Saturday June 7

It's been a few weeks since I've "blogged". It's not that I have been super busy, I think I'm just trying to settle into life in Atlanta and not doing too much but working and spending desperately needed quiet time with myself, my pets, and more importantly, God. The past few months rendered much turmoil and change, alot for any one person. From divorce, home purchases, job changes, family illnesses, financial uncertainties, a cross country move, all in an 18 month span of time, I have found myself exhausted, totally dependent on God, and just wanting to be alone for awhile. In no way do I believe that this move was an attempt to run from anything, but clearly a part of God's plan for my life. And I honestly do not think that moving to Atlanta means that I will escape the pain of loss or the trials of life. There is still the struggle with loneliness, financial issues, work, and being alot farther from my family. Romans 8:28 says that God uses ALL things to work together for our good. I believe this and know that the trials and hardships of my life are part of His bigger plan for me and keep me in a place where I totally depend on Him and long to seek and find Him even closer to me than ever before. This week, the prayers in my heart were that I would have an undivided attraction to Him. I have found that by being quiet at night, spending time alone during my weekends, and resting, has helped me know that place of attraction to our God.

I continue to work very diligently with Emory to get our Heart and Vascular Center in Dekalb ready for a certain JACHO inspection sometime this summer. Within a month, I am already seeing some positive changes. There is so much to do, and no way to accomplish it all in one month, but daily, I do what I have to do, and at the end of the day, I get to go home, rest, and start over again the next morning. Now, after 4 weeks of diligent and hard work, we are seeing progress, and that feels great. This position has caused me to realize the humility that is required to be a leader. There has been nothing glamorous in cleaning and hauling trash! This week, we will finally have real linens at our clinic--no paper gowns or paper towels for the patients anymore! When I told my staff that I had ordered a linen service, you would have thought I had moved a mountain for them. They have had to use paper towels after echos, stress tests with sweaty patients, and the pillows had nasty paper pillow cases that I doubt ever got changed. The one thing I am learning, the simple and easiest changes, like having real linens, make the biggest impacts. I am so happy to help this clinic have a new vision and move them forward with small daily and weekly changes.