Restructuring

“The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles . . . The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time. Psalm 34:17-19


Webster's Dictionary defines restructuring as to change the makeup, organization, or pattern of. I have had to have restructuring in my life simply because the old way of doing things just wasn't working. The old way was destroying who I was and everything around me. Through my experiences, I THOUGHT the way that I was doing things was perfectly fine until life as I knew it began to crumble. We as a people can quickly settle into our comfort zone. We do things because they are familiar or we are use to them. The truth of the matter is if you keep doing the same things you will keep getting the same results and things will only get worse.

How do we know when our lives need restructuring? Your life needs restructuring when most of your days are spent being lonely, tired, sick, sad, frustrated, and so on. God has not designed life for us to be miserable in it. Jeremiah 29:11-13 tells me different. “I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.”

How do we restructure? As with all problems, the first step is admitting there is a problem! We have a way of lying to ourselves as if our lives are perfect. I'll use Facebook as a prime example. Some people on FB will have all of these great pictures and these great quotes and all of these great post on how great their lives are when in actuality their lives are miserable. Now granted, I think FB is a great tool for certain things, but some times it can be down right ridiculous because some people just basically lie to themselves. But anyway, admit that you have a problem.

Once you admit that there is a problem, start doing something about it. How do I do something about it you ask? Now I can't tell you what your issues are or how to fix them. I can only tell you of my experiences and what has worked for me. If you seek the Lord, as the verse above says, with your whole heart (not holding anything back), I believe he will give you the wisdom and the knowledge to fix your problems. The key is to be a willing vessel. If you are not ready to restructure, it won't work (quit reading here and come back when you are ready).

After the restructuring process has begun, you will see your life begin to transfrom in no time. Are things perfect? Of course not, this is life. What you do have is the ability to handle whatever situations arise with a joyful heart! It's not a matter of IF you will have issues, it's WHEN! My problem was that I was living in this Fairytale Land population 1. I THOUGHT I was "Perfect Pattie" who had it all together and had it all figured out. Another grave mistake that we make. You never arrive to a point of perfection. When you think you are there, destruction is not far behind. I was the type that it was something wrong with everybody but me!

God has shown me how not to be judgemental, how not to be so hard on myself, how to be respectful of my husband, how to have patience with my kids (I'm still not quite there because I do have four and when they do things like crack open a tube of toothpaste in the car and eat it, constant bickering, paint the seat with REAL paint in my SUV, make snow angels in the middle of ballet class when "she" should be learning her routine for the recital and the teacher is shoving her in the car because she has had about all she could take....it test all of my patience and religion I THOUGHT I had....God ain't through with me yet!), how to be organized, how to be disciplined (this is a toughy too when it comes to chores around the house. My clothes monster had a litter of babies over the course of the week), how to stay focused, how to shut my mouth, how not to be negative in my thoughts, and most importantly, how to surrender all to him.

I do know that during my restructuring process, I have learned so much about who I am and how to be the wife that my husband deserves and the mother that my children can call blessed. Through being real with myself, I am able to share my story to help others find their way through this journey called life.

Peace and Love