Old Things New

TRANSFORMED, from broken to beautiful

Navigation
  • Home
  • Painted Furniture & Misc.
  • Tutorials
  • Abortion Story
  • Freedom Friday Posts
  • Funny Stuff
  • My (Our) Story
  • Freedom Session Website
  • Contact

Day 3 – When You Find Yourself in Unexpected Places -or- This is not a Tell-All Story

October 3, 2018 by Patti 3 Comments

The Write 31 Days Challenge – 30 Days,Every Day,One Topic

 Day 3

(Day 1 starts HERE)

How does one write the most painful parts of their story and remain upbeat?  Like I said on Day 1, I love to laugh. Laughter is a great gift to possess when times get tough and no matter what’s happened in life, I’ve always found reason to laugh.  

Yes, I realize that laughter can be a coping mechanism. Like when we had to sit through my mom’s Christmas Eve service year-after-year, watching the same boring play, performed by the same lackluster actors, clutching paper skirted candles that we’d light together at the end of the service.

Always being a creative sort I made the most of the situation. Softening my candle in warm hands while the play trudged on, molding and shaping the softened wax during monotone readings from the Bible,  and putting the finishing touches on my wax creation while “What Child is This?” was belted out by the soloist who couldn’t hit the high notes to save her life.  

Y’all must think I’m a terrible person for judging, and yes, I sense a(nother) much needed time of confession in my future. Click To Tweet But what was even worse was that I had two young daughters under my influence and they were delighted into fits of laughter at the sight of my finished product – A perfectly formed rose candle.

Confession time here:  When I first wrote this post I included a lot of details about my ex-husband.  Later, as I considered my purpose behind my sharing, I came to the conclusion that it was to justify myself, my right to leave the marriage, and to explain away my own ill behavior at the time. There were a lot of “stories” told about me then and I was vilified by many, so in a way I was hoping to defend myself to you, my readers.  

As I prayed about what I’d written these words popped into my head, This is not a tell-all story. Click To Tweet

I hear ya’ Lord.  I know full well that my story is mine to tell but his story is not, especially in a public forum where it could potentially cause pain to him or others. So I will refrain from defending myself with a “tell-all” and let God be my defender.

Moving right along, what do we do when we find ourselves where we never expected to be?  For me, a broken marriage, betrayal by a friend, and a new life to navigate.  This is exactly where I found myself nearly 30 years ago when I came to the decision that I would leave my then marriage.  No one but me knew the depth of pain I felt within the relationship because I was Perfect Patti.

Sunday-morning-put-on-my-mask-and-go-to-church-Patti.

 Never-let-others-see-that-you’re-hurting-Patti.

I’d lived for years, active in church and doing all the right churchy kinds of things – leading studies, hosting home groups, and teaching Sunday school.   

I looked really good on the outside but my God-walk was one of constant striving to prove that I was good in order to cover the fact that I knew that I wasn’t.  I was draped in a cloak of deep-seated shame. Click To Tweet

A Broken Marriage – I never wanted to wear the label “divorced” in the first place, or the second place in my case (more on that another day), but it came to a point that divorce was my only hope.  

At twenty years of age I married an older man whom I met at a time when I had so little self-esteem that I felt thankful that anyone would even want me.  So I’d jumped full in to marriage after three months of dating.

From the start there were things in our relationship that were very wrong, but I stayed, and I tried, because I didn’t want to fail again.  During the time we were married we had two children together, attended church regularly, and I resigned myself to living life unhappy. 

Until . . . I decided to go back to school, gained some confidence in myself, and began preparing my escape, never telling anyone of my plans.  I withdrew from my then husband and grew distant from church friends.

One evening, after a particularly bad encounter at home, I knew the time to leave had come and the next day I set up a meeting with one of the women’s leaders in the church, whom I also considered to be a friend.  I did so because I didn’t want her to be surprised when she heard the news that I’d moved out of my home.

Bad decision.

Well look at that!  I’ve gone over my word count today so I’ll have to return tomorrow with Day 4 – Unfriended by the Church

To start from Day 1 you can link up HERE

Love y’all,

If you are enjoying this Write 31 Days series I’d love for you to share the word on social media!

I’ve been known to link up to the following great parties!!!

Sunday:

SundaysAtHome, LifeOnLakeshoreDrive, SilverPenniesSundays, RusticAndRefined, Spiritual Sundays

Monday:

IShouldBeMoppingTheFloor, TheDedicatedHouse, Dwellings, ProjectInspired,  InspireMeMonday, CelebrateYourStory, What Joy is Mine/Monday Musings, Darling Downs Diaries, The Art of Homemaking, MomentsOfHope, Glimpses, SittingAmongFriends, InspireMeMonday, GodSizedDreams

 

Tuesday:

TalkOfTheTown, HomeStoriesAtoZ, AStrollThruLife, CoastalCharm, CedarHillFarmhouse, TuesdaysAtOurHome, TheWinthropChronicles,  Rich Faith Rising Unite Linky, Testimony Tuesday,Cheerleaders of Faith,Tell His Story

Wednesday:

SavvySouthernStyle, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Woman to Woman Word Filled Wednesdays, Coffee for Your Heart, MessyMarriage, ThreeWordWednesday,  WriterWednesday

Thursday:

ShareYourStyle, ImpartingGrace, EmbracingChange, HaveADailyCupOfMrsOlson, MyRepurposedLife, ADelightsomeLife, KatherinesCorner,  Thought Provoking Thursday, SincerelyPaulas, ThoughtfulThursday, Tune-inThursday

Friday:

FrenchCountryCottage, TheCharmOfHome, TheDedicatedHouseAnythingBlueFriday, ShabbyliciousFriday, Faith’nFriends,  Dance With Jesus FreshMarketFriday

Saturday:

FunkyJunkInteriors, SaturdaySparks, TheInspirationGallery, Make My Saturday Sweet

Tweet

Filed Under: Addiction, Christianity, Faith, Freedom, God's Grace, Marriage Tagged With: Addiction, Christianity, Faith, Freedom, God's grace, Marriage

« Day 2 – Beach Body Musings
Day 4 – Unfriended by the Church »

Comments

  1. Barbie says

    October 4, 2018 at 1:16 am

    I can hardly wait!

    Reply
    • Patti says

      October 4, 2018 at 5:06 pm

      This series is so much fun isn’t it Barbie? I have you latest post in my inbox and will be sitting down to read later this evening. Thanks for your sweet comments.

      Reply
  2. Leslie Ann Hoyt says

    October 4, 2018 at 10:11 pm

    I love the way you describe things!
    Funny and serious and hopeful all in one sentence.
    I’m following this.
    I wanna know how God redeemed you!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

OldThingsNew

I am Perfectly Imperfect Patti, daughter of the King, wife to the amazing Mr. OTN, mom to two grown daughters, a great son-in-law, and companion to two spoiled dogs. At Old Things New I share DIY’s, budget friendly home transformations, as well as posts about how God transforms our souls. I myself have been made new and I love to share what I’ve learned through WRITING and SPEAKING. To view a short Vimeo of “Our Story” (Mr. OTN and I) please follow the link at the top of the page.

Disclosure: Old Things New is a participant in the Amazon affiliate advertising program, which is designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com . . . or, in other words, Shopping through my links helps Old Things New keep the lights on!

Search this site

Click below to:

Follow on Bloglovin

Click on icon below to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, & Instagram

facebook twitter pinterest instagram

My HGTV Tiny House Hunter Experience

My HGTV Tiny House Hunter Experience

Christmas Cloche Ideas

Christmas Cloche Ideas

Pottery Barn Knockoff Jingle Pillow

Pottery Barn Knockoff Jingle Pillow

Christmas Shopping Ideas

Farragoz Online Painting Course

Sign Up Now

Save

Instagram

This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: No feed found.

Please go to the Instagram Feed settings page to create a feed.

See what I’ve been pinning lately!

Color Washing Technique

Color Washing Technique

Chalk Painted Kitchen Cabinet Tutorial

Chalk Painted Kitchen Cabinet Tutorial

Three Chalk Paint Recipes Reviewed

Three Chalk Paint Recipes Reviewed

Fab Over 50 (or 60, or 70 . . .)

Fab Over 50 (or 60, or 70 . . .)

Love Fashion? Follow my Fab Over 50 Board on Pinterest!

Archives

  • December 2018 (2)
  • October 2018 (31)
  • September 2018 (2)
  • August 2018 (3)
  • March 2018 (1)
  • December 2017 (4)
  • November 2017 (3)
  • October 2017 (3)
  • September 2017 (4)
  • August 2017 (9)
  • July 2017 (7)
  • June 2017 (8)
  • May 2017 (9)
  • April 2017 (7)
  • March 2017 (1)
  • February 2017 (5)
  • January 2017 (5)
  • December 2016 (1)
  • November 2016 (1)
  • October 2016 (1)
  • September 2016 (3)
  • August 2016 (7)
  • July 2016 (3)
  • June 2016 (4)
  • May 2016 (5)
  • April 2016 (6)
  • March 2016 (7)
  • February 2016 (6)
  • January 2016 (9)
  • December 2015 (12)
  • November 2015 (11)
  • October 2015 (7)
  • September 2015 (3)
  • August 2015 (3)
  • July 2015 (8)
  • June 2015 (6)
  • May 2015 (1)
  • April 2015 (8)
  • March 2015 (10)
  • February 2015 (8)
  • January 2015 (7)
  • December 2014 (9)
  • November 2014 (7)
  • October 2014 (7)
  • September 2014 (3)
  • August 2014 (2)
  • July 2014 (5)
  • June 2014 (5)
  • May 2014 (4)
  • April 2014 (12)
  • March 2014 (7)
  • February 2014 (1)
  • January 2014 (3)
  • December 2013 (7)
  • November 2013 (4)
  • October 2013 (6)
  • September 2013 (6)
  • August 2013 (6)
  • July 2013 (7)
  • June 2013 (11)
  • May 2013 (8)
  • April 2013 (7)
  • March 2013 (9)
  • February 2013 (10)
  • January 2013 (6)
  • December 2012 (5)
  • November 2012 (2)
  • October 2012 (2)
  • September 2012 (2)
  • August 2012 (5)
  • July 2012 (6)
  • June 2012 (3)

Tags

Addiction Antiques and Collectibles Blogging Books Chalk Paint Chalk Painted Furniture Christianity Christmas Coastal Style Crafts DIY Drop cloth projects Entertaining Faith Fall Decor Flowers Food Freedom Freedom Friday Freedom Session French Country Friendship Furniture Painting Gardening God's grace Home Decor Home Decorating Hospitality Inspiration Junking Lakeside living Marriage My Home My Story old junk transformations Prayer Recipes Recovery Redemption Shopping southern living Spring Summer thrifting Tutorial

Fistbump Media, LLC

Copyright © 2022 · All Rights Reserved · Designed by Blogger Boutique for Old Things New Blog

 

Loading Comments...