10 Tips for Change: A Room Deconstruction

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10 Tips To Change A Room

Re-decorate her room was the #1 item on my daughter’s birthday wish list. Well, she asked for that and chickens, which we are working on. (eeeek and yayyy!) (Update, they are here, meet the chicks) After all she is turning 12 and entering that tween stage of life, outgrowing her old ways and learning new. My mom took her shopping for some new bedding to help with the makeover process. After perusing Pinterest and gathering ideas, Mae picked all the bedding herself and decided on a slightly more grown up color scheme. Here are some before and afters:

You guys know I was up for a room-refresh, it’s one of the things I love to do. The fact that my girl is excited about decorating makes this mama’s heart pound with joy. What a fun task to take on together! It’s been an interesting project to watch unfold.

We started with the deconstruction of her room. Carefully, we combed through every item from wall hangings to storage containers and purged anything that she had outgrown, didn’t serve a purpose anymore or she just didn’t care for an longer. As you can imagine it was a process. What was interesting to watch was the thought she gave to each item. Some things were hard to let go.

A while back she got ride of a few childhood items that she since regretted and now she carefully considers her feelings about items before hastily tossing them. This go round she wisely chose to put some things away in the attic, knowing if she missed them we could pull them out and if enough time passed and she didn’t notice their absence it was ok to donate them for someone else to enjoy.

Some décor was easier to get rid of than others, the choice was clear. Constantly I had to keep this girl on task as she reminisced while holding a treasure from childhood or a fond friend. We would have been there all year without a gentle prod now and then. Distraction came heavy as Mae started envisioning her new décor, a million questions peppering me…where will this go? when will we be finished? what’s gonna go right her? what will this look like? do you think I will like it? what if it doesn’t turn out how I hoped? can we go shopping TODAY?Repeatedly I said, “Mae, we have to take this room apart before another thing can go in it! We don’t even know what we need yet and no, it won’t all happen today.” The giggly excitement still had her erupting with questions, many on repeat. Eagerly ready to move forward but reluctant to let go of the past.

Finally we had purged all we could, rearranged the things we had that were staying and made a plan on how to move forward. Mae sat back on her bed, now positioned differently in her room and said, “It looks so empty.” But she was excited about the things to come.

This room deconstruction is the perfect outline for deconstructing change in our life. If you’ve lived a year or two you know that things change. Things besides bedspreads and pillows. Real life takes us on a journey and we can approach the new seasons of change in much the same way Mae tackled the front end of this room makeover. There is a difference in deconstruction and demolition. Deconstructing is re-working, re-building, re-organizing what you have.

1. Take inventory.

   As we grow in Christ and walk the road with Jesus we will start to desire change. It is a natural response to a heart in line with the Lord. Wanting to please him and fall under his authority in all we do. But that change doesn’t happen in a day. It is a process. We can start by taking a good look at our “room” and seeing what needs to go and what we can keep to work with. Prayer will help with this eye opening task. Pray for God to reveal what needs to go in your life and what you need to cultivate and work on. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

2. Start with the easy and obvious.

   If you know it’s time to move on from something, start there. Accomplishing easier tasks will give you momentum to move forward with the harder work on your list. (1 Peter 2:2)

3. Purging is hard.

   Old habits are hard to break, hard to let go of and sometimes even hard to WANT to let go of. It might be possible that a friendship, job or volunteer role needs to set sail, but you feel reluctant to see it go. Take Mae’s attic approach. You don’t have to totally walk away from everything, take a break and see how it feels, time will help with discernment and give your heart time to soften to a tough decision. Leaving something good for something better feels risky, but when under prayerful decision we should always strive for better.  (Mark 9:43)

4. Work with what you have.

   We all feel unequipped at times. Like we don’t have what it takes to climb the mountain in front of us. Believing someone else could do it better. Those are complete lies. We have what it takes to accomplish any task God sets in front of us. Work with the unique qualities and strengths God formed you with and leave the rest up to him. If he calls you to change he will equip you for it, that’s part of the growth process! (1 Corinthians 2:16)

5. Accountability.

   Staying on task is hard, whether it’s a diet, growing bible knowledge or simply being kinder to your husband you need accountability. Someone to gently nudge you when you get side tracked, distracted or down right discouraged. Seek out a friend that will speak truth in a loving way when you need to take the next step on your journey of change. (Hebrews 3:13)

6. Have Faith.

   If you are called to work on a new area in your life you’ve got to have faith that it’s for your good. Trust the unforeseen, that’s the definition of faith. We don’t ever really know what things will look like in the future but we sure can waste a lot of precious time wondering, day dreaming and doubting when we could be putting one foot in front of the other and marching toward the goal. Things may not turn out how you hoped, but if you walk in obedience you can have confidence they turned out how He hoped. God is for your good, always. (Hebrews 11:1)

7. Patience.

   Sarah was past childbearing years (Genesis 18:10), the Israelites spent forty years in the desert, Joseph was sold, imprisoned and waited years to reunite with his family. Some things take time. I am guilty of wanting results now. Today. Yesterday even! But patience brings beautiful things, stories take time to unfold, goodness takes time develop. We have to add patience to the mix on the journey towards change. (Galatians 5:22)

8. Make Room.

   Making room in our heart takes a keen eye. An eye to see the things we are pouring in that are taking up precious space of something better. Are the things you are putting into your mind, mouth and calendar necessary? the best choice? a building block toward the change you are called to? If not maybe they need to go to make room for something better. Deconstruction is a necessary step before reconstruction can happen. The deconstruction can hurt and be difficult, but the finished product is completely worth it. (Luke 2:7)

9. Have a plan.

   I don’t know many people who go on a trip with out a map and itinerary. Life shouldn’t be much different. If you have goals and direction it’s much easier to keep a focus through life’s changing stages. These goals will change and flexibility is a must, but a target will help you stay on course. Maybe you need to go so far as to write down action steps, goals and even share them with your accountability partner. (Nehemiah 2:12)

10. Come empty.

    When we come to the cross empty and ask to be filled there is a nervous excitement about what is yet to come. We are giving God room to work by allowing him to guide our time, our hearts and our actions. Empty means dropping our ideas and ways at the door and being open to His plan. Empty mean the deconstruction is over and it’s time to let the master builder do his work. (2 Kings 4:3)

Watching my daughter work through this change in life and her room has opened my eyes to God’s way of working from a fresh new perspective. I will take you along as we finish adding in some new, more grown up touches to complete her room, but for now we are embracing the first few steps in change! It’s a work in progress…just like the rest of us 🙂 We have a starting point, we know what we have to work with and what we need to move forward to bring her vision to life. I can’t wait to see the change take place, stay tuned! Let me know what changes you are feeling called to or facing, I would love to pray for you. UPDATE: Here are some pics of her room…concrete countertops and wall art ideas.