Excerpts

"You Can Make A Change" February 12, 2006 Press Release.

"You Are Your Own Worst Enemy - A Lesson From the Game of Life" by Delores Patterson.

Author Delores Patterson Releases New Book to Help Others Live a Successful, Purposeful and Fulfilling Life


"You Can Make A Change" was written especially for those who are seeking clear, understandable answers as to why their lives have been unsuccessful and what they can do to change it.

Savannah, GA (PRWEB) February 12, 2006 -- Author Delores Patterson, in her new book “You Can Make A Change!”, will share some biblical truths that will help one make positive changes that could affect every area of his/her life.

This book has been carefully written as a guide to help one live a successful, purposeful and fulfilling life. "In the book 'You Can Make A Change,' I’ve mentioned some positive changes that I have had to make in my personal life," said Delores Patterson, author.

"I am truly pleased with this book because it offers suggestions to people who have been longing for positive changes in their lives," she said. "This book will challenge them to think about things that they have said or thought that has negatively affected their lives. It will point them in the right direction towards making the necessary changes so that they can live the God-kind of life."
 

--------------------------------------------------------------

You Are Your Own Worst Enemy - A Lesson From the Game of Life

Written by Delores Patterson

It was the summer of July 6,1965 in New London Connecticut when I heard a startling knock at our front door. I ran to tell my mother that someone was at the door. When my mother opened the door, there stood two policemen dressed in black uniforms with solemn looks on their faces. I thought they had come to take my mother away and I held on to her tightly. One of the men asked my mother was she the wife of Thomas Lee Patterson. She responded by saying, “Yes”. They asked to come inside. My mother led the policemen into the living room. They explained that her husband had been shot and killed after getting into an altercation with another man. My mother began to cry pitifully and I cried, too. My mother asked the policemen where her husband was. They said that he had been taken to the hospital by ambulance. After the policemen left, my mother called one of my father’s sisters, who lived in Savannah, Georgia, to tell her that her brother had been shot and killed. Then, my mother got dressed to go to the hospital.

When my mother left, I felt lonely and empty on the inside. The only comfort I had was sucking my finger. I was seven years old at that time and I was terrified of knowing that my father had come home for the last time. Sometimes my father would come home on leave from the United States Navy. He spent lots of time with us and sometimes he would go out with his friends. When my father went out, he would always say, “I’ll be back”. He always came back, but this time he didn’t.

The next day, I noticed my mother sitting at the dining room table reading the newspaper. When I saw the tears rolling down her face, I knew that what she was reading had something to do with my father. I peeked over her shoulder and there was a picture of my dad and the man that shot him on the front page of the newspaper. I said to myself, “Why did that white man have to kill my dad?” This is how I developed the thought that white people didn’t like black people. This thought stayed in my subconscious mind as I grew up. I didn’t remember attending my father’s funeral, but I do remember my aunt Mable, one of my father’s sisters, staying with us at that time.

Several days later, my mother told my sisters, my brothers, and I that we would be moving to Savannah, Georgia to live with our Aunt Mable.  I really didn’t want to leave Connecticut, but I had no choice. I liked living in our two story house, playing in the snow during the winter, and going to school with my friends.

My family and I took a train to Savannah. It was a very long ride from the north to the south. I enjoyed eating, sleeping, and playing on the train. Most of all, I was fascinated by the houses, people, animals, bridges, water, and mountains that I saw while looking out of the window. The train was noisy and filled with other families who were going south, too. The only things I didn’t like about the train ride was the smell of coffee and the click clacking of the train’s wheels.

When my family and I arrived in Savannah, I knew that moving was the best thing that we could have done. My mother was pregnant and was unable to work. My Aunt Mable was kind enough to let us stay with her until my mother had the baby. She lived alone in a very large house and seemed to enjoy having us live with her. We lived with my aunt for one year and then we moved into our own home.

Growing up in the 60’s down south was not easy. For the first time in my life, I experienced racism. I recalled getting on a city bus with my mother and was told by a white bus driver to sit at the rear of the bus. He had a frown on his face and spoke with a gruff voice. I asked my mom, “Why do we have to sit in the back of the bus?” She told me that it was against the law. I said to myself, “That’s not a good law.” While riding the bus, I stared at the bus driver. It brought back to my memory the white man that killed my dad.

On anther occasion, I went shopping with my mother at J. C. Penny’s Department Store. While we were in the store, I told my mother that I needed to use the restroom. The restroom door was locked and the sign that was posted said, “Ask the cashier for the key.” I asked a white cashier for the key, but she ignored me and began waiting on a customer. I felt hurt inside because I had to go real bad. As I walked away, I noticed the cashier giving the key to a white customer. I told my mother what had happened as we were leaving the store. I thought my mom was going to take me back to use the restroom, but instead she took me into a lane to use the bathroom. I felt so embarrassed stooping down with my mother standing in front of me. I just couldn’t get it out of my mind that white people disliked black people. I couldn’t understand what we had done to make them dislike us.

On April 4, 1968 Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. I was ten years old at that time. I didn’t know anything about him because teachers never talked about him at school. I was afraid at that time because there was so much that I did not understand. My mother told me that Martin Luther King fought for equal rights for all people and as a result of this someone killed him. At that time, blacks people fought white people and set their businesses on fire. Due to all of the violence, school was closed. There was lots of rioting throughout the city of Savannah and other cities. While my mother worked, my sisters, my brothers, and I stayed with Miss Dolly who was a friend of my mom. Miss Dolly was a friendly lady who treated us as if we were her own children. She cooked dinner for us, made sure that we did our homework, and kept us safe.

During my elementary school years, black students and white students attended separate schools. By the time I got to middle school, certain laws were passed that changed things. For the first time, I attended school with white students. I can’t remember a time when any of them mistreated me or called me names. I noticed that black and white students became friends easily. By the time I entered high school, black and white students attending the same school had become commonplace.

While in high school, I was told by my mother and some of my teachers that if I got a good education that I would probably get a good job. With that in mind, I studied hard in school and I graduated from high school and college with honors. Because of this, I thought that I wouldn’t have any problems entering the workforce.

After graduating from college in June 1980, I went down to the Board of Education in my hometown to apply for a teaching position. As I entered the Office of Personnel, I was greeted with a smile by one of the secretaries. I told her that I had come to apply for an elementary teaching position. She quickly handed me an application and a pen. I thanked her and sat down to complete the application. I remembered double checking it to make sure that I had answered all of the questions. When I gave the application back to the secretary, she smiled and said, “I will contact you if something becomes available.” My hopes were very high that I would receive a call about a teaching position.

By the end of July, I began to worry about whether I would have a job in the fall. Every time the telephone rang, I thought that someone was calling me about a job. If I had to leave home, the minute I got back I would ask my mother if anyone called me about a job interview. She would always say, “No”. I called personnel every week to find out if they had reviewed my application. I was always told, “We are still interviewing applicants”.

August came and school would be starting in two weeks. I became frustrated and began to doubt that I would get a job. Janice and Beatrice, two friends from college, said that the Board of Education only hires Caucasians. In addition, they said getting hired had to do with who one knows. With the passing of time, I began to believe what they had said was true. It was mid- November, when I had received a call from Mr. Danny Brown, the director of personnel, concerning a job interview. He asked me to come to his office Monday morning at 9:00 a.m. By that time, my self-esteem was very low and I had developed a very negative attitude. I said to myself, “Why did he wait so long to call me?”

On the day of the interview, it was raining and very cold. I really didn’t feel like going because I didn’t have any transportation and I would have to catch a bus to get there. On my way to the Board of Education, I had thoughts of not getting hired. I remembered entering the Office of Personnel barely looking up. I knew that Mr. Brown could tell that I had a negative attitude. To make things worst, I made the statement, “I know that you do not hire many blacks”. What did I say that for? He looked over his glasses at me as if to say, “Where did you get that from?” That idea came from my two college friends Beatrice and Janice. I said to myself, “You have really messed up.”

Mr. Brown sent me to an elementary school for a job interview. When I got there, I felt that he told the principal not to hire me. Firstly, when I arrived, the principal was not in her office. Secondly, as she came into her office, she didn’t have a pleasant look on her face. Next, she asked me a couple of questions and said, “I’ll give you a call after I interview some more teachers.” I said to myself on my way home, “She not going to call me”. In fact, I never heard from her. I decided that I would substitute teach for the remainder of the year.

At this point in my life, I was very unhappy. I began to blame everyone for my problems including God. Some people would never admit it, but they have blamed God for a lot of things that he didn’t have anything to do with. I was discouraged and I felt that my dreams were shattered.

One day, I telephoned Mrs. McQueen, a Christian friend of mine and told her what had happened to me. I thought that she would be on my side, but instead she said that I needed to change my attitude. She said, “Your attitude determines your altitude.” I felt that I had a right to feel the way I did. The next day, Mrs. McQueen called to invited me to one of her church services. I wasn’t really in the mood, but I went anyway. When I got there, her pastor was talking about having the right attitude. I thought that he and Mrs. McQueen had been talking. On our way home from church, Mrs. McQueen said, “Did you hear what the preacher said?” I replied, “Yes!” I felt convicted about having a negative attitude. I realized that instead of blaming God for my misfortunes that I should blame myself.

I knew that I had to change my attitude in order for things to get better. The first step that I took toward changing my attitude was repenting. I John 1:9 says “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Secondly, I started praying more and reading the Bible. While reading and studying the Word of God, I found several scriptures that helped me get on the right track.

Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

James 2:17 says, “Even so faith, if it hath not work is dead, being alone.”

Philippians 4:19 says “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 says “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own under-standing. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that worketh in us.”

Psalms 34:10 says, “The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.”

Psalms 84:11 says, “The Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.”

Mark 11:23 says, “For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed and be thou casted into the sea and shall not doubt in his heart but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass: he shall have whatsoever he saith.”

I started putting some action to my faith and began to speak to my mountain of jobless-ness. I made a decision to change what I had been saying and the way I had been thinking. I refused to speak anything out of my mouth that was not in line with the Word of God. Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” I kept saying that I was going to get a teaching position. The more I said it. The more I believed it. My faith was growing stronger and stronger. I had begun to experience a sense of peace that I had never known before.

At the beginning of the next school term, I received a call from Mrs. Sheppard who had heard about some teaching vacancies in a rural community about 35 minutes outside of Savannah. Because I didn’t have transportation, I wasn’t sure that I could take a teaching job out-of-town. I knew that I had to do something because I was between a rock and a hard place. My finances were poor and my mother became terminally ill. I took a step of faith and asked Mrs. Sheppard to take me to see about a job. She immediately said, “I’ll be glad to.”

The next morning, I got up early determined that I would get a job. While on my way, I began to thank God ahead of time for what he was getting ready to do. I entered the principal’s office with my head up and I looked straight into his eyes. Mr. David Brown greeted me and asked me to sit down. He explained to me that he had several vacancies that needed to be filled. He asked me to choose the position that I was interested in. I told him that I was interested in the fourth grade position, but there was one problem. I told Mr. Brown that I didn’t have any transportation. Mr. Brown said, “That won’t be a problem.” He said that he had hired other teachers from Savannah and that he would talk to them about letting me carpool. Mr. Brown told me before I left that I had the position. I wanted to scream, but I waited until I got into Mrs. Sheppard’s car. She was very happy for me and I thanked her for bringing me there.

Later that evening, I received a call from Andrea Bowers stating that she would be picking me up for work. She said that other teachers would be riding with us. After a couple of months on the job, I knew that I had to learn how to drive. Everyone agreed to drive one week out of a month. After I had received two lessons from Driver’s Training School, I started looking for a car. I had saved some money and I was able to purchase a brand new car. I drove so well that no one in the carpool could tell that I had just learned how to drive.

After commuting for two years, I decided to seek employment in Savannah for a second time. When I told the teachers, who I had carpooled with, that I didn’t renew my contract, they said, “You’ve just bought a new car!” “How are you going to pay for it?” Their remarks didn’t sway me one bit because my mind was made up. I had been confessing for two years that I would be teaching in Savannah. I didn’t have any job leads, but I was convinced that this would come to pass.

Audrea Bowers said that she had heard about a teaching position that had become available in Savannah through her mother. Andrea’s mother, Mrs. Bowers, was a teacher at Spencer Elementary School where the vacancy was. Andrea gave me her mother’s telephone number. When I called her, I could tell by the excitement in her voice that she was expecting my call. Mrs. Bowers explained that one of their teachers’ at Spencer Elementary School had retired and they needed a black teacher to fill her position. I told her that I would be interested in filling the position. I told her that I attended Spencer in the fifth and sixth grades and teaching there would be an excellent way for me to give back to my community.

I called the principal at Spencer Elementary to inquire about the job vacancy. He said that he had heard about me and asked me to come in for an interview the next day. To my surprise, the principal was my Physical Education teacher when I attended middle school. I remembered Mr. Edward Miller, but he didn’t remember me. He stated that one of his teachers had retired and that he needed to fill her position. I immediately said, “I’ll take it.” I didn’t care about the grade that I would be teaching. All I wanted to do was get my foot in the door. After I agreed to take the position, Mr. Miller discussed my duties and responsibilities as a teacher. I told him that I would be able to fulfill them. While I was sitting in his office, he called the Office of Personnel to let Mr. Brown know that he wanted to hire me. I was surprised to know that Mr. Brown was still the Director of Personnel.

On my way to the Board of Education, I was wondering after two years would Mr. Brown remember me. Because things were going well for me, I felt that it would be different when we met this time. I walked into Mr. Brown’s office with my head up, a smile on my face, and a positive attitude. He greeted me by saying, “ How are you doing?” I hesitated for a second and replied, “I am doing great!” I thought that he was going to ask me a lot of questions, but he only talked about the weather. He discussed my salary and handed me a contract. I read the contract and signed it. As I was leaving his office, Mr. Brown said, “Have a great year!”

Through these experiences, I realized that I am my own worst enemy. I learned that life is not a flowery-bed-of-ease and that things will not always go the way that I think they should. I also learned that all white people do not hate black people and that I had become somewhat prejudice based on things that had happened to me in the past. I learned that negative talking and as well as negative thinking will rob me of all the good things in life. Jesus came that I might have life and have it more abundantly. Jesus died that I might be blessed beyond measure.

You might be wondering why your life has become stagnated and unfruitful. Maybe you have been saying all the wrong things and thinking all the wrong thoughts. I might have the solution to your problem. My new book entitled “You Can Make A Change” will explain why positive things are not happening in your life and how you can change them. This is not a quick fix, but it is a step in the right direction.