Have you ever looked in one of those magnifying mirrors that shows us all the intricacies — all the imperfections —crows feet, laugh lines, and blemishes our faces have acquired in our years?  Honestly, I think these should be outlawed.  How can anyone unsee these things?  We walk around suddenly considering Botox, as if everyone else can also see what is exposed.   As if this is somehow bad.

Perception is everything. 

Our faces tell a story in the mirror.  We don’t realize it, but we are saying things to ourselves about our reflection.  My nose is too big.  I need to start that diet tomorrow. I’m ugly/pretty/old/scrawny/not bad/tired/happy/too set in my ways… I deserve more.  Nobody understands me. Of course, I’m alone… Look at me!

We cleanse and cream and pluck and cover and bronze our way through so that we are putting the best version of ourselves out to the world, but deep down, the narrative runs non-stop. 

We have other mirrors, hidden ones, that reveal our scars.  They reflect our failures, our hardships, our bad decisions, our “if only’s”… They show us things we haven’t let go of yet, our regrets, our losses, our unforgiveness.   They replay images and feelings, years after trauma or drama of childhood.  They remind us of what others have said of us, the reasons they chose to leave us, the untruths of why we are not enough.

These mirrors never show us our positive attributes.  They cause us to act and react in ways that cheat us from experiencing life to the full. 

Now, be still for a moment and take a deep breath.  

This is not how God created you.

God made you beautiful and perfect in His image.  He wants us to be looking at a glass that reflects His love back at us.  One where we are enough, forgiven, loved, whole, and hopeful… He wants us to be shaped by what He tells us, not the world.  

We all have scars and blemishes.  They make us who we are, but they don’t define us.  When we give them to Him, He will use them for our good, to form in us a new understanding, wisdom, and grace.  He doesn’t want us staring at a cracked reflection of ourselves, but instead wants to transform us in ways that on our own we could never think possible. 

We have the power to change the perception and reflection we look at and show to others. 

I can do this. I am more than what they see. I am loving and kind and generous.  I can stand up straight. I am strong. I can be authentic. I can forgive. I can start fresh… God has me and He hears my prayers.

One mirror reflects hope for the future, the other the hurts of our past.

What mirror are you looking into?

Be real with what you see.  Hold it up against the image of what God has of you.  Can you cast off the judgments and the lies of others, and see that you have done your best?  Can you recognize things that have been passed down to you that you no longer need to carry?  Can you accept that He has wiped you clean of the blemishes of sin, and you are made new?  Can you replenish your limiting beliefs with new ones that are open to loving others more, replacing your tendencies to think small, safe, selfishly…?

God wants for you to have a full and happy life.  He wants you to be healed.  He wants to give you beauty for ashes. 

All that you have been through does not make you less beautiful, it makes you more so.  Because you have survived it.  Because it taught you something.  It has given you wisdom, and it is setting you up for what comes next.  

The world’s mirror will tell you what you should be, can’t be, are not worthy of.  It will ridicule you and shame you.  God’s mirror reflects that you are already loved, adored, and enough.  The possibilities that He has for you are endless.  You just need to believe Him, walk along side Him, trust what He is doing even when you don’t see it yet. 

Can you sense it?  

Adjust your mirror to look at yourself in His power.  See all that is already in you to become and accomplish.  You only need to apply the foundation of faith, a smattering of expectation, a blush of perception that there is so much more to you than meets the eye.

Look closely.  Do you see it?

You are lovely, and smart, and victorious.  He has plans for you that will lift you, fill you, encourage you.

Perception is everything.  

See what He sees, and be that gal…

Because you are. 

Mary Bryant is the author of "When He Walks Away… Hearing God When Your Husband Leaves Your Marriage,” a 5-Star Rated book available on Amazon