The Mirror

There’s a version of you that only shows up when you allow yourself to look in the mirror with a willingness to learn through a lens of self-awareness. The version that quietly sits inside your spirit that knows your value without the need to prove it to others. The one underneath all the noise of presenting a put-together façade for the sake of other people’s comfort. Brave enough to ask the question: Do I like the version of myself staring back at me in the mirror? I have looked at my own reflection in the mirror on many occasions and not liked the person staring back at me. I’ve lived through experiences that have taught me the importance of having the courage to reexamine through every season of life, as an ongoing practice. This is where I write about that work. The real, slower work of learning to trust and honor your own reflection over time.

What The Mirror is

Self-doubt is loud and oftentimes simply leftover residue from past experiences. I wrote about my own struggle with this in self-doubt is a liar wrapped in fear. This was a period of my life when I was in the thick of therapy sessions, sifting through the lies I’d told myself repeatedly + doubting my ability to move past them. Trust took a seat to be acknowledged in the mirror too. Trust begins with yourself, before it can fully extend outward. Building blocks of trust is where I first began to place language around what that looks like for me. Trust isn’t something I was raised into, it’s something I’ve had to build one honest brick at a time. More often than not, it is the discipline of sitting and staying in the room with yourself long enough to see yourself in the mirror, instead of allowing fear to take over. Grow with mindful practice is about how easy it is to let life keep moving in the background without being an active participant. The act of being courageous enough to be honest with yourself.

Why faith is my foundation

The mirror was never just about what I see within myself. It has been my ongoing journey to follow the calling placed on my life through my relationship with God.

“For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” 1 Corinthians 13:12 (NIV)

Scripture is where I return as a reminder that how I see myself and how God sees me are not always the same thing, and that gap is usually where the truth revealed in the mirror lives.

If you’re standing in front of your own mirror right now

If today is one of the days where you don’t love the reflection staring back at you, I encourage you to release the fear of taking a deeper look past the image you created. A gentle invitation to take a 15-minute pause, breathe, exhale, and seek guidance from the Creator while you write down what comes up for you.

Where this connects

The mirror is meant to be a bridge between what you see and the weight you’re carrying because of it. Then slowly, over time, you begin to assess what no longer serves you and the reflection in the mirror opens up to the unconditional love it has always deserved, Agape Love. It is in this space when more clarity shows up and prepares you to sit more comfortably in The Waiting Room of life, where things may not look the way you expect, but surely movement is happening behind the scenes.

Keep reading in The Mirror

• Self-Doubt Is a Liar Wrapped In Fear. Deliver It Eviction Papers. On refusing to let self-doubt make the decision for you.
• Building Blocks Of Trust. On learning to trust yourself before anyone else.
• Grow With Mindful Practice, Live Your Best Life. On staying in the room with yourself instead of running.
• Love The Flaws You’re In. On flaws being universal, not a personal failing.

Plus reflection quotes from Rumi, Maya Angelou, Anna Quindlen, and Brené Brown along the way.

This isn’t a race to the finish line. This is an unedited level of self-awareness that prepares you for whatever comes your way.