So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.
2 corinthians 3:18, nlt
I’ve always loved the Michael Jackson song Man in the Mirror because it reflects what I believe: no matter how bad the world is, or the person in the cubicle next to me, or the person running my country… change starts with me. It starts with you. As humans we are quick to compare and blame, blame and compare. She’s worse than me. He started it. We don’t have to teach children to do either of those; it’s human nature. So, if we teach children to start with themselves, that it doesn’t matter what anyone else does, you are responsible for you and only you, then I think we can start to see impactful change in our world. Of course, we can’t teach what we don’t know. This was my most regretful parent fail. I knew I wanted my daughter to think differently and view the world differently, but I hadn’t figured out how to do either of those myself, so I couldn’t teach her.
But it’s more than that. When I stay start with the woman in the mirror, I mean sometimes we have to work backwards. Often what we see when we look in the glass is a reflection of what we see in our own hearts. It’s not what the world sees and it’s certainly not what God sees when He looks at us. So, if you look in the mirror and you see ugly, look into your heart. Why? What has happened to make you feel ugly? Are there hurts from your past that need healing? Is there sin that you are ashamed of that you need to be set free from? If you see someone who is unlovable staring back at you, do you know why? What happened to make you believe that you couldn’t be loved? If you allow God to, He will show His great love for you–through Scripture and through other people–but He will never push. You have to be brave enough to ask Him to show you and to be open to hearing the truth He wants to reveal to you. You have to be willing to pick up His Word and believe what He’s written in it about you. Maybe your reflection shows a woman controlled by fear, anxiety, or uncertainty. God didn’t make you that way, the troubles of this world did. He created you for abundant life and He wants you to experience all the promises found in Scripture… freedom from shame, healing for those deep scars, incomparable joy, peace that goes beyond human understanding.
As your faith grows your heart changes and your image does too. When you can look in the mirror and see the fruit of His Spirit–love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control–looking back at you, that is when you know that His Word is truly written on your heart (Psalm 40:8). We were made in His image when He created us, adopted into His family when we accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior, and as believers our reflection should reflect Him. Not perfectly, but consistently. Once we learn this, we can begin to teach others.
Deeper Growth 
Hi Michaela, I’m visiting from the Flourish Writers community FB page. I saw your recent post there, and thought I’d pop over to support you. I rarely make it onto that page and rarely comment either. However, I’m looking to change that and connect with other writers. This was a beautiful post and great reminder about the (Wo)man in the mirror. A wonderful reminder that we’re made in the awesome image of God.
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Thank you Monica! I’m part of Flourish Writers for the same reason. I look forward to connecting with you more and reading your writing as well.
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You are totally gonna get there (published, I mean). Keep working it. Your words bring hope and that’s what the world needs!
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Thank you! Such beautiful encouragement – I receive it.
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I believe the most effective way to teach self respect and develop inner strength in our kids is to model it every day. If we are espousing something they DON’T see in us, most likely it will create a conflicted outcome. It’s a tricky situation.
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I agree with you, but we also can’t teach (or model) what we don’t know. Which is why the change has to start with us looking into our own hearts. Behavior modification works for a time, but when pressure comes we naturally revert back to old patterns; healing is so much more effective and it’s long-lasting. I had a lot of things that were unhealed in me that kept me from modeling or teaching my daughter how to live a life of self respect and inner strength. I’m modeling that now, but there were many years when I couldn’t. If hurt people hurt people, I believe healed people can heal people.
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Dear Michaela: Thank you for sharing your words of wisdom that have come at a high price. Yes, we often DO “have to work backwards” because we are so vulnerable and tend to fly by the seat of our pants. We seem to always need healing; life is pretty rough on our hearts… and our humanity. I love when you say, “You have to be willing to pick up His Word and believe what He’s written about you”… because we ARE in there—in His book. Because He has given us each a purpose and He expect us to find it. We have to work hard at realizing that purpose, and learning to reflect Him is where it all starts. We are definitely not perfect, but that is what makes life so crazy and unexpected, isn’t it? We want to follow His path but, at the same time, we seem to go kicking and screaming. We are stubborn humans… it’s hard to, as you say, “be brave enough… and open to hearing the truth.”
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Thank you for the deep beauty of your words. Finding His purpose isn’t as hard as we make it when we choose to walk in obedience instead of going the kicking and screaming route. This is a lesson I am still learning and I am grateful to be walking the journey together.
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Thank you for this inspiring message!
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