Reflection in the Mirror

One of my favorite memories with my nephew is when he recognized his reflection in the mirror.  He smiled at himself, giggled, and cooed for quite some time.  He absolutely LOVED seeing himself in the mirror!  I later thought about this encounter and wondered at what point in our lives do we go from loving our reflection to hating it?

We have all looked in the mirror at some point and obsessed over a pimple, a bad hair day, grey hairs, bald spots, weight gain, and other imperfections.  Humans become so obsessed with outward appearances  and will go to extremes to "fix" their appearance.  The sad truth is that many people find their self worth in the mirror. They define who they are and place value on themselves based on what they see in the reflection of themselves.  

To be honest, for many years, I hated my reflection in the mirror.  When I looked in the mirror, I not only saw all the little imperfections listed above, but I also saw a disabled/broken body, and viewed myself as damaged goods.  There was no amount of money, surgery, or a type of makeup that would "fix" my reflection. I hated that I was different and didn't look "normal" like everyone else.   I was looking at myself though a worldly lens and not through God's eyes.

Scripture (which is God's word to us) says,  "Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God." (1 Peter 3:3-4, NLT)  

As I have spent time with God, he has revealed to me who I am in Him. He has transformed me into the person I was created to be.  Today, as I look at my reflection in the mirror, I LOVE what I see.  I still have extra pounds, grey hairs, and a body that doesn't cooperate, but that is not what I see in the reflection any more (or it's not my focus) .  My reflection now reveals to me my compassion for others, my love for others, my desire to help others, my longing for others to experience God's amazing love, and my burning desire to please God by ministering to his people.  God created me for a specific purpose - to share my heart and God's love with others.  That my friends is where I have found the true beauty in life!   

The true beauty of a person is found in the heart  of who they are, not in the way they look! Have you looked in the mirror today?  What do you see?  I pray you will see the masterpiece that God created within your heart!