MIRROR, MIRROR

1 Corinthians 13:12  "For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face.  Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known."

I have learned, slowly, but still learned to accept the will of the Lord for my life.  I would like to say I never question anymore, and it is rare, but on occasion I do ask of the Father, "what does it all mean?"  As I look back over my life, mirrors have had so many meanings.


When I was a teenager, mirrors held a reflection of how I thought others perceived me.  What I saw is what I thought they saw.  This is so very foolish, I came to realize in later years, as we seldom see what others even think, much less see.  We are so critical of ourselves.  We can be stick thin and see fatness.  We can have one blemish on our face and see a mountain when a little bump is.  I can remember school pictures one day and as I passed by the mirror I saw this huge red spot on my face and did not want to go to school.  It was probably the size of a pin head but I saw what I saw.

As I got older, and the path I walked was not one I am proud of, mirrors became almost an enemy to me.  As my life took turns that are difficult to even think about, mirrors beheld an image that was hard for me to look at.  Disgusted with what I saw, I could hardly look at my reflection.  But grace....the beautiful grace of my God.  Being raised in church, this was a difficult time for me.  For a while it did not bother me as I was wallowing in self righteous, indignation of the things that had been done to me and self pity for what  seemed I could not control.  But God, through the Holy Spirit gave me a garment and told me to put it on.  It was a Belt of Truth.  I had to put it on and become truthful with myself and most of all with the Lord.  Truthful in who I had become with the help of the enemy who was so good to point out the treatment I had been exposed of and help me to feel sorry for myself; to make me feel like I was helpless in this situation and that I had no choice in the matter.  But the truth shall set you free.  The Lord told me a first truth....before I had to face myself....He told me that He loved me and that nothing I had done, or would ever do, would change that.  He would always love me.  Then He wanted me to face all the facts of who I thought I was and who I really was.  I was not this failure that had no choice, I was His child and He could and would help me in all things.

In the worse of times, there is grace, there is Light.  I remember once flying from New Orleans back home to Lake Charles (this is going way back) and the weather was terrible.  Our flight was delayed leaving for over two hours and we had to land in Baton Rouge and stay there for awhile.  When we finally flew out the storm raged over us until the pilot got us above the clouds, above the storm.  I was so surprised, the sun was shining up there and there was no storm.  We had risen above our circumstances, above the storm.

As the Lord was giving me this today, He brought that back to my memory.  He wanted me to know that there is nothing in the mirrors of my life that reflects a storm that our Lord cannot bring light to, that He cannot clear the dimness with His oil of forgiveness and His balm of healing to your heart.  His grace and mercy can clear the darkness that we see in any reflection we may see in the mirror and make it a clear, Son-lite reflection of His love.  We do not have to remain behind a darkened image of ourselves when Jesus has come to redeem us from all darkness, to bring us into His light.  Those things reflected by the mirror that are disturbing to us, hindering us from breaking free of the past, are only what we see.  We need to look closer and see the reflection that our Lord God is showing us.  Righteous, sanctified, beautiful in Him.  We are the children of God and our reflection shows His likeness.

The gratitude in my heart for the mercy and grace, for the love of my Lord overwhelms me at times.  He has been so good to me.  Can you see now.....the knowledge of what our Lord wants to show us, wants us to remember....what was once the reflection, so dim, so dark, so heartbreaking for me, for you, now is the beautiful image of me....of you.....in Him.  Lovely, precious in His sight, so worthy of His love and affection.  My God, who I was is gone.  Who I am in You will never leave me, as You will always be holding my hand, always whispering Your love to me, always calling me to "Come away, my beloved, come away with Me".

03-06-12