The "Ultimate Pattern" Pattern

By: Jessica Marchant

Change is hard. We all know it, and we all feel it. Why can’t we just decide something needs to change, and “poof” it changes? Well, its because it wasn't built into the plan of salvation that way. Heavenly Father wanted us to come down here to earth so that we could learn to MAKE a decision, and decide to LIVE it. If it were easy, everyone would pass the test of mortality, and we would all “poof,” become Gods. We all know that just isn't so, life is to be lived, righteous habits developed through testing, and godly character developed.

We learn about an eternal principle in the nature and character of God. Mormon 9:9 states: “For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him there is no variableness neither shadow of changing?” This is amazing to think that Heavenly Father has progressed so far, and has come to a point that He doesn't have any “bad habits” he needs to change, and that the goals he sets and lifestyle he lives is the lifestyle He always lives. He is the ultimate example of righteous living patterns. For could any of us even conceive of Him going along and only being just for 1 year, but the next year He just decided He had done enough? Of course not. He lives the "ultimate pattern" pattern, we know that His patterns are the ways that we can pattern our lives.

I hope that all of us can become more like God in our daily lives. We can decide to live the life we know we should. No more of this yo-yo living, no more of the budgeting then splurging, no more of the strict diets then back to our old lifestyle, and no more following “get rich/skinny/sleep/nutrients/knowledge quick” deals. Doesn't a life of consistency sound great? We can attain it in any area that we struggle in, be it budgeting, weight management, exercise, etc., by applying these principles we learn from our Heavenly Father. Life is about making a change to become better...and LIVING it.