Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Victorious Living

Home
Family, Parenting and Religion
How Your 2019 Patterns Will Define Your Year

How Your 2019 Patterns Will Define Your Year

Last updated on: September 7, 2019 at 11:31 pm by Victorious Living

How Your 2019 Patterns Will Define Your Year 2019-09-07T23:31:36-04:00 Victorious Living

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

There is a fascinating verse in the Bible that says this: “Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed” (Matthew 21:44). It is essentially saying that the person who willing surrenders to the truth will be hurt, challenged, and convicted by it. And the only other option is to deny it; but in doing so it will fall on us unawares and destroy us completely. One way or another, we have to face reality.

This makes me think of the routines of my life. The rhythms. I recently heard someone talk about New Years as a time to re-evaluate and reset their daily rhythms.

Our brains are wired in such a way as to develop and reinforce patterns. We often say we are creatures of habit. The more I live, the more I find this to be a profound truth.

Crushed

As a college student, I hated patterns. They felt oppressive and prescriptive. I wanted to do my own thing. I wanted freedom.

A huge part of this was my immature view of freedom. Regardless, the fact is we cannot avoid patterns. We become used to things. We tie our shoes without really thinking about it. We might defend our politics in the same way. The way we respond to conflict in our families is another. Our patterns are developing every day and there is nothing we can do about it.

If we ignore our patterns, like the lessons of history, we are bound to repeat the mistakes inherent within. We will keep arguing out of defensiveness, denying our addictions, blaming others for what is our responsibility.

In short, the power and weight of our patterns will destroy us if we let them. Try as we might, we cannot ignore them or cover them up. They are reality. They are truth. And if we ignore them, they will overtake us.

Broken

On the other hand, we can see this tendency to pattern as an opportunity. After all, patterns are not inherently negative. It is possible to have good patterns. Waking up early, working out, going to church every week: these are all positive patterns that speak to the reality of our existence.

So, then, the cure to our negative patterns is not trying to live a life free of patterns (as my college self thought) but living a life of free patterns. The weight and power of freedom can be a force of good in our lives.

In order to do so, we need to let the truth of our patterns speak to us. Let them reveal what needs to be changed (re-patterned). Let them show us the opportunity to take what begins as challenging and almost impossible into something we do nearly subconsciously.

Think about the marathon runner who wakes up for training day one and thinks 26 miles is impossible. After lots of work (“breaking”), a new pattern is set and they can run further than previously imagined.

To make the most of life, we need to make the most of our patterns. They are here to stay. The choice is whether we ignore them and let them have their way or take ownership of them and set them with intention. Either way, our patterns will determine the life we live.

Previous Post

January 25, 2019

The Value of Admitting Fault

Next Post

January 30, 2019 Why Are We Addicted to Drama?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Choices Conflict Resolution Culture Change Emotions Failure Faith Fear Freedom V Growth Healthy Communication Hope Identity Influence Leadership Learn Mistakes Mood Curve Ownership Perspective Power Relationships Self-Awareness Self-Governance Systems Thinking Three Things You Control Transformational Leadership Trust Truth Uncategorized Values Vision

Select a Month January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How many books are in the New Testament?

Select your answer to see how you score.

21 13 27 30

Books by This Author Books by Victorious Living

See All Titles »