Pediatrics and Jasmine Tea

So, yes, it's been a while since my last post (yeah, yeah, what's new?!)

and this is not what I had in mind when I thought about what I would write once I got back around to writing in the blog world (and not just reading everyone else's! :)

I think I've had a hard time finding a starting place again.  Starting the new year is a lot of pressure..and I just wasn't quite ready ;)  

More than anything, I didn't feel like I was ready to turn the faucet on just yet.  So much has happened since my last post Honea Christmas.  For example, Carroll Christmas, time with my Grandmother, my sister's baby shower, a trip to Asheville, friends becoming engaged, coffee dates with old friends, sickness,  a new yoga routine, all new classes and clinical rotations, game night with friends, skype dates with friends across the pond, snowy crunchy morning walks, clarity, being all in, my continued fight with sleep, simplifying, pinterest,  study habits... 

did I mention I wasn't ready to turn on the faucet?  geez.  so many different things to synthesize, where do I begin?!

**********************************

Well, here's what I'm doing today:

Pediatric Assessment >  Health History. Physical Exam.  Family Psychosocial History.  Cultural Roles. Hereditary Diseases. Review of Systems for little people. Infant and Adolescent Anatomy and Physiology.

...with a side of Jasmine Tea.

************************************

As I go through the various assessments, I visualize and imagine.  I can see myself (my future self) interacting with patients and families.  babies, kiddos, new moms, etc.  "Can you tell me about when the coughing started?  What was he/she doing?  Does the cough keep him/her/you up at night?  Have you had any changes in your daily routine? Like a new play pal at the park maybe?"  

Do you see where I'm going with this?  Much of my practice is and will be data collection.  Questions and Answers.  A daily exchange of knowledge, anxieties, hopes, fears, details, big pictures. Ultimately, it is a daily exchange of life.

I talked to my friend Cassidy this morning.  She is currently in the UK with Pioneers (http://www.pioneers.org/.)  Since completing her Bachelors degree in Biology at UNC, she has known that the Lord is calling her to the medical field, but other than that, she doesn't know any details--timing? nursing vs medicine?  Right now, she is working in campus ministry...building relationships and sharing the gospel with Chinese students in Birmingham.  

We talked about not looking so far ahead that you miss out on what is in today.  What does the Lord have for us...today? 

We also talked about having our mind and our hearts together in one place.  I tend to think in one place and love in another.  If you know me at all, you know that I am passionate about living among people of need.  In physical need, emotional need, spiritual need.  

In recently spending time with my increasing ailing Grandma, I wondered why I long, ache even, to be close to her at this time in her life.  She looses words when she is retelling stories.  I can see her forget who people are when their name is mentioned in conversation or the blank stare that she has when she can't recognize a great grandchild.  I see the joy and light that comes to her eyes when she talks about her garden and her farming trips to Canada.  She needs much.  I have found both in Scripture and in life that God draws closest to those who are in need.  I think that is why I need to be around people in need.  

We are all people of need.  Some of our needs vary--physical needs, financial needs, social needs, etc.  However some needs do not.

We all need...

Love

Hope

Forgiveness

Family

Purpose

Joy

Peace

Truth

In Him, we have all our needs met.  

In Him, questions are answered, hope is certain, details explained, big pictures come together, fears are relinquished, pain is healed, and the 'what next?' that drives most of our lives becomes much less of a driving force than simply a fact of this life (and the next :)

******************

I hope my jumbled words speak life to you.  If not, it was good for me to finally put the pen to the paper (so to speak) and start the year off with...