Templates

 

If you’ve ever taken the time to read the Old Testament of the Bible, you probably are aware of how often God used templates. He had a pattern or plan (template) for everything! Imagine if He didn’t! What about his conversation with Noah if He didn’t have a template in mind:

 

    God:      Noah, I want you to build an ark.

    Noah:    What’s an ark?

    God:      Well, it’s like a big boat.

    Noah:    What’s a boat?

    God:      Just build a big, wood, container that will hold two of every kind of animal on earth.

    Noah:    How big is that?

    

You get the idea. It wouldn’t have been a pretty sight if God left it up to Noah to figure out. Instead, he provided the exact template that Noah would need to build an ark. And that wasn’t the only template He had….He had one for the temple, the Ark of the Covenant, and even templates for our relationships with others (read Leviticus or Numbers). God was so consistent in making sure every part of His creation had a template, that we are able to identify those patterns and call them Natural Laws. We are able to understand the Universe by studying the patterns because they are consistent.

 

Humans, being made in the image of God, also build their lives around patterns. Take a look at your daily routine…it’s pretty consistent right? For the most part, your days look the same: you get up around the same time, eat a similar breakfast each day, go to work, come home, etc. Routine is comfortable. It’s predictable. I believe everything that is created, begins with a template. Houses, businesses, medical treatments, cars – you name it. It pretty much began with a template or a pattern, even if only in someone’s mind.

 

This is the reason I believe our thoughts play such a huge role in our lives. What we think about often and consistently becomes the template on which our life experience is created. If your life is a constant struggle, you need to take a look at the template. If you don’t like it, change it. People who walk around with a smile on their face, feeling blessed, being happy – they aren’t just lucky. They just have a better template than someone who is struggling to keep a smile on their face.

 

Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. If there were a way we could record our voices and thoughts for any 24 hour period, we would be able to identify our life template. Just like everything else, our thoughts have patterns too and it would do us well to know the routine thought patterns we have. I have recently been around someone who is constantly saying things like:

“I can’t win for losing.”

“Damned if I do, damned if I don’t”

“Life is so unfair!”

“I can’t seem to get ahead!”

“Two steps forward, three steps back.”

It’s not surprising that this person is really struggling in their life right now.

 

What about you? What does your template create? A life of joy, peace, and happiness? Or does your template resemble strife, lack, and stress?  If you have an average amount of happiness and peace, what can you do to change your template to increase the joy? This is the beauty of the gift of free will. We can willingly change our outlook and our attitude, which then changes our thoughts. You are the captain of your life. You can choose the pattern you wish to use to create your existence! What a wonderful opportunity we have! I chose peace for today. What do you chose?