Mirror Mirror on the Wall...

 I've spent a good many years avoiding mirrors. I'm so good at avoiding them here in the house that I rarely see my face in the bathroom mirror above the sink. I know my figure flaws. Who needs to see them? Certainly not me. When I choose not to look in the mirror I can pretend I still look the part of the nineteen year old me, with a little more padding and such.
  Earlier this week The Hubby found the mirror that had once been attached to my vanity. While he still needs to reattach it to its frame, the mirror is now propped up on top of the vanity. That particular piece of furniture sits right beside my bed and acts as a night stand and storage area for different things. It's in a spot I can't miss. I haven't yet learned an avoidance technique with this intruder into my life; I see myself a few times each day.
  This evening as I was preparing for bed, I made myself take a good look in the mirror. The time to take stock of what I'm working with has been long past due, and I can no longer pretend. It wasn't easy to take a look. I knew I'd gained weight over the years, and, as Ma Kettle once put it, "I used to have an hourglass figure. I still do; the sand's just shifted in some places."  But this time there is no denying what the shifting sands have done. It spurred a discussion with my husband, and he told me what I needed to hear instead of what I wanted to hear. I'm happy he is honest with me about this, even though it's kind of tough to hear. Now that I can't deny the problem, it's time to do something about it. Although this will be published on Monday, today is Saturday evening; tomorrow is the time to to get busy and work on these problems. I will follow this post soon with an action plan.
   Are you like me? Do you tend to avoid mirrors? Sometimes we see ourselves one way, and don't want the mirror to show us something different. It's that way with sin as well. Sometimes we get to a point in our lives where we are comfortable, and don't want to take a good look at the mirror and see what it says about our lives. I like being able to think that I'm doing okay, even when I know that my life is a mess. I don't want to look into the spiritual mirror, the bible, and face the truth. Sometimes God does what The Hubby did for me : he places the mirror in an unavoidable spot. Perhaps He uses a trusted friend or a brother or sister in Christ who isn't afraid to say, I'm concerned about you because of this particular sin in your life. Sometimes it comes in the form of a lesson in the morning sermon, or any number of ways to get our attention. Once the mirror is placed in our way, it is up to us to decide what to do with that image placed before it. We can cringe and become defensive, come up with a plethora of excuses as to why it isn't true or shouldn't matter. We can give half hearted acknowledgement, console ourselves with thoughts that it really isn't that bad and "I will work on that. Soon. Really." Or we can take a deep breath, look into the mirror, and really pay attention to the state of things. Take inventory, go to God in prayer, and ask for His forgiveness, and then work on addressing the problem, knowing that we needn't be alone in this. 

 I've spent a good many years avoiding mirrors. I'm so good at avoiding them here in the house that I rarely see my face in the bathroom mirror above the sink. I know my figure flaws. Who needs to see them? Certainly not me. When I choose not to look in the mirror I can pretend I still look the part of the nineteen year old me, with a little more padding and such.
  Earlier this week The Hubby found the mirror that had once been attached to my vanity. While he still needs to reattach it to its frame, the mirror is now propped up on top of the vanity. That particular piece of furniture sits right beside my bed and acts as a night stand and storage area for different things. It's in a spot I can't miss. I haven't yet learned an avoidance technique with this intruder into my life; I see myself a few times each day.
  This evening as I was preparing for bed, I made myself take a good look in the mirror. The time to take stock of what I'm working with has been long past due, and I can no longer pretend. It wasn't easy to take a look. I knew I'd gained weight over the years, and, as Ma Kettle once put it, "I used to have an hourglass figure. I still do; the sand's just shifted in some places."  But this time there is no denying what the shifting sands have done. It spurred a discussion with my husband, and he told me what I needed to hear instead of what I wanted to hear. I'm happy he is honest with me about this, even though it's kind of tough to hear. Now that I can't deny the problem, it's time to do something about it. Although this will be published on Monday, today is Saturday evening; tomorrow is the time to to get busy and work on these problems. I will follow this post soon with an action plan.
   Are you like me? Do you tend to avoid mirrors? Sometimes we see ourselves one way, and don't want the mirror to show us something different. It's that way with sin as well. Sometimes we get to a point in our lives where we are comfortable, and don't want to take a good look at the mirror and see what it says about our lives. I like being able to think that I'm doing okay, even when I know that my life is a mess. I don't want to look into the spiritual mirror, the bible, and face the truth. Sometimes God does what The Hubby did for me : he places the mirror in an unavoidable spot. Perhaps He uses a trusted friend or a brother or sister in Christ who isn't afraid to say, I'm concerned about you because of this particular sin in your life. Sometimes it comes in the form of a lesson in the morning sermon, or any number of ways to get our attention. Once the mirror is placed in our way, it is up to us to decide what to do with that image placed before it. We can cringe and become defensive, come up with a plethora of excuses as to why it isn't true or shouldn't matter. We can give half hearted acknowledgement, console ourselves with thoughts that it really isn't that bad and "I will work on that. Soon. Really." Or we can take a deep breath, look into the mirror, and really pay attention to the state of things. Take inventory, go to God in prayer, and ask for His forgiveness, and then work on addressing the problem, knowing that we needn't be alone in this.