I took this photo from the banks of Fairy Lake on Friday because I was impressed with reflections on the very calm, glass-like water surface. If you look closely you can even see the reflection of billowy white clouds in the blue sky and vapour trails that had been left by jetliners flying overhead.
As I snapped a few more exposures I began to think about the significance of reflections and how many different types there really are. Besides images bouncing back to us from shinny surfaces such as water, glass and mirrors, light and heat are commonly reflected. When we are engaged in deep thought we are said to be in a reflective frame of mind. We see ourselves reflected in our children and our grandchildren and how often do we catch ourselves thinking, or reflecting, on days gone by?
Our eyes can see good reflections and bad reflections. It is much the same with our minds.
In my last post I talked about the power of attraction and I honestly feel that there is also a power in reflections.
Can we find joy in our reflection despite what we see? Definitely, yes, we can see the person we desire to become with just a simple shift in perception. One woman explained it this way:
"I have been giving myself haircuts for the past 20 years, because I just happen to like the way I cut my own hair. Ordinarily I cut my hair fully clothed, but this time I was cutting most of my hair off into a short bob and didn't want to deal with the clippings getting embedded in my clothes. So there I was looking at the reflection of my backside in the mirror and all I wanted to do is throw myself down on the floor and cry.
"I had been trying to lose weight for months, but hadn't really gotten very far, and what I saw in the mirror that day proved it. Instead of throwing myself down on the floor and crying, I did something worse; I started to mentally punish myself for looking so disgusting and letting myself go like that. I didn't stop there. I began telling myself just how ugly I really am and that I could not believe anyone would ever say I was pretty and actually be telling me the truth, especially the way I looked then.
"Only a few moments passed after beating myself up mentally, when I had a very clear revelation. I began to realize that it isn't what is on the outside that needs to be beautiful, but it is actually what is on the inside that God truly looks at. I thought that if I could separate my spirit from my body and take a good look at it, I wondered what type of reflection I would see. When I was finished analyzing and looking my spirit over top to bottom, I was simply amazed! I then said out loud, "Now THAT'S BEAUTIFUL"!
"Within moments the ugliness that I felt disappeared and I was able to focus on what is beautiful about me. I began looking at myself the same way that God looks at me, and realized that even though my spirit is in this body, my body is only a shell that houses the "Beautiful" spirit that God created for His Glory. I realized right there and then that God does not see us in our flesh, but lovingly looks at our spirits to find our true selves.
"Even now, as I pass a mirror and am tempted to look at what is wrong with what I see, I don't give in to that temptation any more and look beyond what the human eye can see. I see a 'Beautiful Spirit' reflecting back at me, even on my worst days."
May we all see only beautiful reflections!
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