Have you ever wondered just why it is that there are certain things that consistently go awry for you, or others around you, when you’re in the picture? Without actually taking a good look at yourself, it's likely the real reason will escape you.

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Do I mean that you need to double check with your roomie whether you've been sleep-walking lately whenever some unfortunate event headlines during a news bulletin? Nah!

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However, if those you know well display some really unreasonable behaviour which is only ever levelled at you, or surfaces when you're around, then perhaps it's time to look in the mirror.

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When I look in the mirror in my mother's bathroom, I am a movie star. It's like a Photoshop guru is permanently stationed behind it, blurring every imperfection and bathing me in an extraordinarily flattering light.

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This marvellous feeling lasts as long as it takes to catch my image in the oblong reflector in the living room. Who knew two metres could make such a difference? The cloud I've been floating on for all of five minutes bursts unceremoniously.

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We’re told the first mirrors mankind used were natural ones. Ancient peoples caught glimpses of strangely familiar figures in pools of water and realised (to their amusement, I’m sure) that the blurry images staring up at them were themselves.

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The reflections weren't clear then, and are less so now. Mainly because of the lofty opinions we have of ourselves which encourage us to ensure we are cast as nothing less than Apollo or Aphrodite-like - with a hefty dose of self-aggrandizement thrown in for good measure.

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Thus, we are rendered incapable of seeing our own misdeeds and shortcomings and must therefore assume the blame lies elsewhere.

Which it can/could, but not always does.

Knowing the difference is the key to staying humble as well as maintaining good healthy relationships; the bedrock of community.

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Sooooo, on reflection...

Is it what I see, or what is seen in me?

Which - if either - is the real me?

I suspect actuality lies mid-way between the two, though I may never know this side of eternity.

Simply happy for the privilege of being able to regularly ask God to weed out my unseemly bits before I become the problem proper.

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Grace.

And wisdom, please… 🙏🏾

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📖 Now we see a blurred image in a mirror. Then we will see very clearly. Now my knowledge is incomplete. Then I will have complete knowledge as God has complete knowledge of me.

1 Corinthians 13:12 GW (YouVersion)

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