Mirror, Mirror

"Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who is the fairest of them all?"

When my daughter was young, we had just finished watching Snow White when she looked up at me and said, "Mommy, am I the fairest of them all?" I knelt down and looked her straight in the eyes, "Lakin, never compare yourself to others. God made you just the way you are."

But to be honest, most of us grow up and all along the way we look in the mirror and compare ourselves to everybody else; our family, friends, movie stars, pro athletes, models in magazines, the girl next door, the guy in the other cubicle, it doesn't matter who. We constantly look at what we have better than others or where we are sorely lacking. I am too fat, too thin, my nose is too big, too flat, too bumpy, my ears are pointy, small, big, my eyes are close together or too far apart, my hair is too straight, curly, kinky, wavy, I am too tall, too short. I can't sing, dance, play ball, I am not smart enough, I am too smart, I am not funny...blah, blah, blah. Nothing is sacred when looking in the mirror.

We more than not don't like what we see. Sometimes it's the face staring back that doesn't hold the beauty the world covets. Sometimes it's our choices that make us not like who we have become. And sometimes it's our character that just doesn't measure up to whatever we are holding it next to.

While it is a good idea to pause, take stock of your life, and see if you are becoming the person you want to be.... let's PUT DOWN THE MIRROR! Comparing either elevates us with arrogance or brings our self-esteem down to the ground. Neither is healthy or helpful. We spend so much time focusing on what's in the mirror and striving to be "the fairest of them all" we miss out on so many other blessings in our lives that God has for us.

Whenever you feel the temptation to pick up that mirror and start the comparison game, remember it is a trap! When you take your eyes off the one who created you and his plan for your life, you become more and more self-centered as you spend more and more time on being "the best or the better then..."

Our identity can't be found "in the mirror" and it definitely can't be found in Hollywood, on a college campus, in the arms of a person, on stage, on the court or the field, in a job, or even in our family. Our identity is found in God. He knitted us together in our mother's womb. He counted the hairs on our head. He made us in his image. He adopted us as his sons and daughters. He made us his masterpiece. 

I can picture God kneeling in front of us and looking straight into our eyes, down to the depths of our souls and saying, "My precious child, you were fearfully and wonderfully made. I did not make a mistake. No matter what you see in that mirror, always remember that I love you enough to sacrifice my son for you. You are mine!"

"For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." Ephesians 2:10