I do not know what my face looks like.
I do not know what my face looks like without looking in a mirror.
And even then, what I see is a flipped image of myself. I cannot see my true form even with a mirror.
I cannot see myself as I truly am.
I need you.
I need you to help me see myself.
This is by design. I am created for this. I am created to need input from others to form a clearer/deeper/richer understanding of myself. It is how I learn. From infancy, I have been learning from those around me: who I am, what my place is, what my strengths are, and my weaknesses. All the people in my life, throughout my life, are my mirrors.
Not all the mirrors I’ve had throughout my life have been clear and accurate. Because of this, I have come to know myself as stretched or squished, depending on the distortion being reflected.
When I hold onto my stretched or squished view of myself, I miss the strengths I do have, the ways I am already strong. I miss how my presence, my life, is a blessing to others. I cannot see myself as I truly am. And, so, I need more mirrors. Today I seek mirrors that are clear and true. These are the people whose judgment I trust.
It is both uncomfortable and helpful when one of these people reflects something back to me that I don’t yet recognize as me. When my reflex response is, “No. That’s not me,” I remind myself that these are mirrors I trust. I open myself to the possibility that what they see is true. I allow for something new and beautiful to be called forth from me.
May you seek and find clear mirrors. May you be surrounded with accurate reflections of your grace and strengths and beauty. May you come to trust those who see most clearly. May you come to know yourself in all the glory God created you to be.
Rachael