The mirror told my truth.

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Ever since I reentered the school system, I made the same promise every summer- I will workout and come back more fit than I left. And every summer I miss that goal. Yet this summer I had irrefutable evidence of my failure and it stung like a million knives, piercing the deepest depths of my being.

So there I was on Friday morning, wearing the same bathing suit that I had worn two years earlier, looking in the mirror and realizing that while it still fit, I was bigger now than I was then. I stood in front of the mirror, disappointed in myself and full of regret, straining to remember when the scale started to tip and how I had missed it. I stood in front of the mirror, processing a truth that I had so wanted to ignore- my weight had gotten out of control. I was so clue to staying in that space, staying in that dark place and dwelling on my inadequacies but then…

King had just finished getting ready in the bathroom. We all ventured down to Virginia Beach for his 40th birthday celebration and we were preparing to head to the beach. The girls were next door getting coffee and we adults were dragging along. As he opened the bathroom door, he saw me standing in front of the mirror. Unaware of my thoughts and my feelings, he just stared at me for a bit and then smiled. It took a beat but when I felt his eyes on my body, I turned and smiled at him.

“What’s up, babe?” I asked.
“Nothing; just admiring what I see,” he responded.

I melted.
All of the thoughts that had been circling in my mind floated out and never resurfaced that day. In fact, the thoughts were gone until I felt led to pen this blog. It’s amazing how one look changed my whole day and perspective.

I thanked him.
After telling him where my mind had been just a few moments earlier, I thanked him for his words. He didn’t know the pit that I had just been sitting in but his words spoke life into me.

The mirror still told my truth, but only a small fraction of my truth. It did not tell of my accomplishments and triumphs from the years passed. It did not speak of the joy that I carry in my heart and being. Yet what it did do was hold me both accountable and responsible for who I saw looking back at me. That mirror forced me to look deep within myself and realize the truth that God had been telling me for all of my life- that GREATER was ahead of me, if I would just relinquish control.

That mirror, though it had no mouth to speak, told me to release my excuses and though it had no hands, told me to fight for my life. That mirror, though it had no mouth to speak, told me that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me and though it had no hands, held me close to who I used to be.

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King’s words snapped me out of my thoughts and also reminded me of beauty that I often forget. My beauty- our beauty- is not found in weight, clothes, or any exterior thing. My beauty- our beauty- is found in both the confidence and strength that lies within.

That mirror held me accountable.
And that mirror moment saved my life.

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Beloved, when was your “mirror moment?” When was that moment that you realized just how far you have come, while strengthening you to realize that you can go all the way? Think on that today and allow God’s truth to carry you through this day.

Be blessed.