Who Are You?
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What do you see when you look in the mirror? Do I dare go there? Yep!
At the moment of birth, society begins it’s haunting dictation of telling us what we “should” be. And it is relentless. Although we are generally safe during the formative years of birth through five, once we enter a formal school setting, our worlds open up. We are catapulted into a whole new environment and inundated with new life experiences and possibilities.
Even at the young kindergarten age of 5, we NOTICE the girl with the long thick braids adorned with pink bows when we have shorter fine hair or bangs that have been cut too short. We notice Lindsey’s cute shoes or Susie’s pretty dress or the Barbie backpack hanging on the hook and how it’s “prettier” than the one we have. We begin the concrete process of noticing others and comparing ourselves to them and very often “wanting” what they have.
“Even at the young kindergarten age of 5, we NOTICE the girl with the long thick braids adorned with pink bows”
As we grow and change, especially through puberty, so many of us are just awkward in every way. Peer influence and societal messages become our new life compass and parental influence quickly diminishes. That crazy new burst of estrogen dictates “I am independent!” “Leave me alone!” and “I don’t want your help!”.
Of course, I need to add that each of us approaches puberty differently based on personality type, life stressors, in tact or divorced homes, non/supportive parent/s, and strength of emotional relationship with parents. Is there trust? Is there emotional safety? Is there consistency? Puberty is a multi-dimensional beast but I believe it resembles an ice burg. The physical changes are noticeable to the naked eye, but so much more is happening beneath the surface - especially comparing oneself to others and then ferociously trying to “fit it” with the latest style, nails, music, etc.
After homeschooling my boys for four years, they went back into public school. I then went to work as a junior high Special Education Instructional Assistant. I did my best to show love, compassion and understanding to these kids who, for many of them, lack of parental involvement and support was their biggest issue in navigating school. It was a travesty. Day in and day out I watched the kids shuffle into class and would overhear the latest gossip about their friends or in many cases, their arch nemeses. While my days focused on implementing curriculum, I felt compelled to encourage many girls about their worth. So many were insecure with themselves, studied other girls, nit picked other girls and clung very tightly to their clicks who provided acceptance and security on their level. It was a daily phenomena of just HOW MUCH young girls were/are saturated with mixed societal messages about how they should look, behave and act. For countless girls, it is a rough road.
But we are all living proof of having survived and for the most part, in tact! We all grow up, move on, and move out. Wherever you may be at right now, let me ask again. Who and what do you see when you look in the mirror?
I’ll share what I see when I look into my mirror. I see a physical body that is beginning to really show it’s age with crepey skin, inherited varicose veins, wrinkles and a few extra pounds mainly because of midlife hormonal changes and a few bad eating habits. I have a short torso and long legs with a plump rump. Finding clothes that fit well has always been like finding a needle in a haystack - problematic. It doesn’t matter how I slice it, in the body image department, I come up short in many areas.
“Wherever you may be at right now, let me ask again. Who and what do you see when you look in the mirror?”
But I don’t focus on that much anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I have spent many a dollar on wrinkle creams, gym memberships and classes, and other things so I am doing my best to combat my physical aging process. I dress nicely and wear the body I have been given as best I can.
But that’s not the end of the story. I have so many flaws! We all do! And they are so much more than skin deep! So when I look in the mirror, instead of seeing what’s “wrong” with me, I now see who God has made!
And the following are just a few about what He has to say about me (AND YOU!)…
I am fearfully and wonderfully made | Psalm 139:14
I have been called out of darkness and into His marvelous light | 1 Peter 2:9
He knows the number of hairs on my head | Luke 12:7
I am a child of God | John 1:12
I have been justified and redeemed | Romans 3:24
I will not be condemned by God | Romans 8:1
God calls me a saint | 1 Corinthians 1:2
My body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells within me | 1 Corinthians 6:19
I am the righteousness of God | 2 Corinthians 5:21
I am chosen, holy and blameless before God | Ephesians 1:4
I have been made complete in Christ | Colossians 2:10
The peace of God guards my heart and mind | Philippians 4:7
There are SO MANY more scriptures defining how GOD sees us!
I like HIS version of me SO MUCH MORE than my own!!
Being a woman is not easy. Most of us can count on our bodies succumbing to gravity eventually one way or another but let’s do our best to focus on 1 Timothy 4:8 (amplified):
For physical training is of some value, but godliness (spiritual training) is of value in everything and in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and for the life to come.
And more sobering than that is we all go to the same place (in the end); we all came from dust and we will all return to the dust (Ecclesiastes 3:20).
Let’s accept and do our best to take care of the bodies God has given us; short, tall, skinny or fluffy. He has made us all and each of us are fearfully and WONDERFULLY made in His image.
Let’s embrace that we are perfectly imperfect!
Father, I pray the blood of Jesus over each reader. I ask You help them to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5) and You would expose any lies they may believe about themselves. Reveal Your truth to them about how YOU see them. You love us unconditionally and it doesn’t matter what we look like because You see our hearts. I ask that You gently expose the places in our hearts that need a paradigm shift into Kingdom thinking instead of worldly thinking - which is stacked with unrealistic expectations we are not called to measure up to. I ask that you would give each reader the grace she needs to learn to love, appreciate and admire herself the way YOU do. I pray the mirror she looks into is YOUR mirror and not her own where she focuses on what’s wrong but instead she sees what You see and what is RIGHT with her. Order our day today and allow us to accomplish whatever it is You place in our path and let the rest fall to the wayside. And when we hit our pillow, let us be content in our day praying that You’ll give us each a new day tomorrow with the ones we love. In Jesus name, amen.
Song of the Day
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