Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

When I was young we had a very large rectangle mirror that hung over the couch. I must have been reading Alice in Wonderland because I would climb on the back of the couch and stare deeply into the mirror looking for another world to jump into. As much as I flattened my face against the mirror and as hard as I wished, I remained in my own living room.

Have you ever been all gussied up, looking your best and ready for an evening out and stopped to look in the mirror? I always think "Oh, No!" I thought I looked thinner, that my hair looked better, and I did not realize my eye makeup made me resemble a raccoon.

I believe the mirror forces us to see things as they are and not as we wish.

This is an interesting poem I found on Tumblr. I hope you like it

Weighing 

Shaving,
I wonder how much the mirror
would weigh

with nothing in it.

I step away,
step back,
touch glass with fingertips.

Every day I do this,

looking at the face
I’ve earned
with countless joys and griefs.

One day I will shave and do

the ritual not knowing
it is the last time.
Every morning I am rehearsing

saying goodbye to myself.

—Neil Carpathios, author of Beyond the Bones

Have you ever behaved in a way that caused someone to call attention to your inappropriate actions?  Were you mad at yourself or did you blame the mirror? I don't believe any of us see ourselves as others do.  Who we believe we are and who others believe us to be may be completely different. 
 

"I know that mirrors give us a false sense of confidence," I continued,  "the reflection that we see everyday has nothing to do with how others see us. The glass lies."Rasmeia Massoud HUMAN DETRITUS 

Apparently there were mirrors in biblical times as there are a few references to them. 

James 1:22-25

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

When should we be the mirror to show other people their wrongs? Careful here, this is some thin ice. You see, in the bible when someone needs corrected, it is to be with love and kindness. That might be harder than you think. The moral superiority I might carry in my backpack tends to weigh more than the amount of kindness located in the side pocket. 

There are several verses concerning this but I want to quote this particular one.

Galatians 6:1 

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

You see, many of us have the same temptations, and even if you have managed to resist you too could be as weak as your brother.

The most important part of the mirror for me, is the ability to look myself in the face without shame. There have been days I could not look myself in the face. The unrepentant face in the mirror was too sad to look at.

As we journey together let's pray for each other and for the world we live in. If you are someones mirror do it with kindness and if someone is your mirror, be grateful for them. Love to you until the next "epistle".