Mirrors (revisited)

this year, i have been reading My Utmost For His Highest (Oswald Chambers). it's been awhile since i've read that as a daily devotional. it's been good for me.

i found the following words (from Jan. 23rd) very moving...and my mind keeps returning to them and i've read them over several times. "The outstanding characteristic of a Christian is this unveiled frankness before God so that the life becomes a mirror for other lives. By being filled with the Spirit we are transformed, and by beholding we become mirrors. You always know when a man has been been beholding the glory of the Lord, you feel in your inner spirit that he is the mirror of the Lord's own character. Beware of anything which would sully that mirror in you; it is nearly always a good thing, the good that is not the best." ("We all, with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image." 2 Cor. 3:18)

"the mirror of the Lord's own character": that is truly an overwhelmingly daunting sort of proposition!! how very, very far i fall from that goal, i'm afraid....and yet, it is the Spirit that keeps drawing me to that goal...to the reality of that possibility. Even in my unworthiness....He keeps leading me towards the best!

last weekend, Fr. Hank made this statement: "Truth sets us free to be who we are rather than who we fabricate ourselves to be." Staggering!! convicting!! and freeing!! It's so easy to pretend, isn't it....
often, i think, our cultures even encourage us to pretend!! but that's the thing about mirrors...it's tough to fake in front of them too much...it's pretty obvious when the fit isn't quite right....when that certain look just "isn't working"...

i want to be genuine...unfabricated. to have the threads of my soul match up with what i see mirrored in the gazes of my family and friends. to have "who i am" so rooted in Him that pretending is not even on the table. again, i say: i'm often far from that goal...but that's the kind of mirror i long to be.

And, what a blessing to know others who are also desire that mirroring miracle! i wrote a little along these lines a while back. i remembered what i had said :) when i was reading the devotional. Here's the link to that post. (if you're interested) It felt funny to reread myself :) i think i'm a little less honest these days in my blogging. that's something to ponder....and kinda sad. And i'd forgotten how many pictures we all used to post...Facebook has tempered that sharing exuberance...or maybe just reshaped it....i'm not sure. *sigh*

These are only some rambling thoughts and i thank anyone who has persevered through them for taking the time!:) But, as i'm preparing to be with some of my mirroring friends for a few days in Fl. (so excited!!!!), my old post and these old, but still fresh words from Oswald Chambers have been on my heart. I am challenged to not be a watcher and reader of others.....but to be a reflector and a seeker of His transformational glory!