Mirror Mirror, On the Wall

I'm going to share an experience I had this week. I was in my Jazz class: sweaty, no makeup, ponytail, t-shirt, cropped leggings, and there was a moment when I looked in the mirror and liked what I saw. I remember I paused, smiling halfway in pleasant surprise. I looked at my body shape, at my flushed face, and I thought I looked pretty good. A thought crept into my mind:

Why didn't I think this in the mirror this morning?

I thought harder, and I realized something even more scary:

Why don't I hardly ever think this in my mirror in the morning?

I'm going to show y'all a picture. The first time I saw this picture, it struck me down to my core.

Now, I will be clear: I do not have an eating disorder, which is what this photo is helping to illustrate. But I think all of us do have a warped perspective when we look in the mirror. Let me make another thing clear:

Both girls portrayed in this photo are beautiful.

Why is it that we choose to see something different when we look in the mirror in the mornings? Why do we analyze with a worldly gaze? What would our days be like if instead of sucking in or trying to fill out to meet the standards shown by the media, we look at those arms that can spike a volleyball, or that flushed face that means you worked hard in practice today, or those bright eyes that see the good in others? Why do we notice pimples instead of purpose? Why do we see shape and size instead of strength and character?

Why do we choose to call the reflection inadequate?

The mirror is not your enemy here. There is no little devil controlling the light rays bouncing off the glass so that you see something imperfect and ugly. The only thing keeping you from seeing a beautiful, confident person looking back at you is yourself.

You are the one who can change what you see.

Choose today to like what you see in the mirror. Notice your beauty and choose to see your abilities, your talents, your God-given attributes, your heavenly destiny. You are a child of a King. Your reflection shows your poise, your strength, your individuality, and yes, your body, which is a gift from God, created by a perfect being, and therefore perfect just the way God created it.

All you have to do is look for it.