4152 The Woman in the Mirror

There's a moment — and if you're honest, you know exactly the one I'm talking about — where you catch your reflection and the first thing that crosses your mind isn't kind. It's not always about what you look like physically, although sometimes it is. More often, it's deeper than that. It's the look in your own eyes that says, I thought I'd be further along by now. It's the quiet measuring of the woman in the mirror that happens when you compare who you are today against who you imagined you'd be at this point.

And just like that, the woman staring back at you becomes not enough.

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But here's what I want you to sit with today — right here in the middle of your week, right in the thick of whatever you're carrying — that woman in the mirror isn't behind. She isn't falling short. She isn't the rough draft of someone better.

She's the real version. The one doing the work. And she deserves more than your criticism. She deserves your compassion.

We do this thing where we hold two versions of ourselves in tension. There's the woman we are, and then there's the woman we think we're supposed to be. The problem isn't aspiration. Dreaming and growing and reaching — that's beautiful. The problem is when the future version of ourselves becomes the standard we use to beat up the current one.

You wouldn't look at a garden in the middle of its growing season and say, Why aren't you blooming yet? You'd tend it. You'd water it. You'd trust the process because you understand that growth takes time and the right conditions.

So why don't we offer ourselves that same grace?

Psalm 139:14 says, "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." And notice — it doesn't say will be wonderfully made. It doesn't say once I get it together I'll be wonderful. It's present tense. Right now. As you are. In the middle of the mess and the growth and the not-quite-there-yet, you are already a finished work in progress. That's not a contradiction. That's the beauty of how God operates — complete in His eyes and still becoming in yours.

Maya Angelou once said, "We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty."

And I think that's the piece we forget when we look in the mirror. We want the butterfly. We want the wings. But we dismiss the season we're actually in, as if the cocoon stage doesn't count.

It counts.

Every single layer you're peeling back right now counts. Every hard conversation you've had with yourself this week counts. Every time you chose to keep going even when you didn't feel ready — that counts.

So let me ask you this: when was the last time you looked at yourself — really looked — and simply said, I see you, and you're doing a good job?

The K.I.S.S. ~ See her and say so!

What are you saying to yourself now? How's that working for you?

You need to see yourself and acknowledge that you are doing a good job. So what does that look like in real life?

1. Stand in the mirror for sixty seconds — not to fix, but to notice. Before you reach for the critique, just look. Look at the woman who showed up today. The one who got out of bed, who carried things no one else can see, who is still standing in the middle of her week. Let that be enough for sixty seconds.
2. Write down one thing you've grown through this year — and thank yourself for it. Not something you accomplished. Something you grew through. A hard season, a tough conversation, a shift in how you think. Put it on paper and let it remind you that progress doesn't always come with a trophy. Sometimes it comes with quiet survival.
3. Replace one "I should be" statement with an "I am" statement. The next time you hear yourself say I should be more patient or I should be further along, stop. Rewrite it. I am learning patience. I am exactly where I need to be for this season. Words shape how we see ourselves, so speak to your reflection the way God already sees it.

As Paul wrote in Philippians 1:6, "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

That means the work isn't yours to finish alone. Your job is to stay in it. To keep showing up. To stop demanding perfection from a woman who was only ever asked to be faithful.

The woman in the mirror isn't finished yet. And that's not a flaw — it's the whole point.

You're becoming. And becoming is holy ground.

"Be present. Be incredible. Be YOU!!!"

 

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Cover Art by Jenny Hamson

Photo by Canva.com

 

Music by Mandisa - Overcomer

http://www.mandisaofficial.com

Song ID: 68209
Song Title: Overcomer
Writer(s): Ben Glover, Chris Stevens, David Garcia
Copyright © 2013 Meaux Mercy (BMI) Moody Producer Music (BMI)
One Songs (ASCAP) Ariose Music (ASCAP) Universal Music - 
Brentwood Benson Publ. (ASCAP) D Soul Music (ASCAP) (adm. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com) All rights reserved. Used by permission.