Saturday, September 7, 2013

Inspiration Arrives At The Library. Day 4






Hanging around in the atmosphere with all those famous
...and published authors...
must have rubbed off.

Just relaxing at one of the large tables in our new comfortable library,
staring out the huge window and watching people walking on the street,

browsing through the latest issue of Artful Blogging,
letting the images and creative words wash over me,

I knew I could reach for my pen (no laptop for this girl...yet)
and let the imagery of what this memoir project is all about seep through.


Sure 'nuff


A change of place and pace... 
sleeping on it... 
praying some about it (help, Lord, help!)

And here it is,

my memoir project description

with working title and a first shimmering image
from which to start the journey of a thousand steps
five thousand words by the end of this course.


Packing for a Woman’s Journey: A Memoir of Spiritual Discovery and Intimacy, by Brenda Colleen Leyland, 2013

I’m standing in the now deserted and empty room, the dorm I called home for two years. Studies were done and it were graduation.  The year is 1978.  I looked around… stopped… and in my heart a prayer formed. I don’t remember thinking ahead about it, but it seemed the right thing in that moment.

God, I just want you to know right now that for the rest of my life I want to do what you want me to do with my life. And for those times I’m not willing, I’m willing to be made willing. And second, God, please don’t let me marry the wrong man.

And I walked out.

This prayer has ‘shimmered’ at various points throughout my life. As you see there are two story lines that ribbon from it: first, I long to write how I discover God’s desire for my life day by day and how I eventually learn that his plans, because He loves me, are good, beautiful and trustworthy.

Second, I didn’t meet the right man (and I didn’t marry any wrong ones) until I was almost 40, which means there is a whole journey to unpack in this slice of life, as I learned to find beauty and joy in living as a single woman, for being single that long was never in the plan.

Right now I feel more strongly to pursue the first part…


This is my new life and
I'm writing to find the right words...


Photo source:  morguefiles.com