I’m Looking at the Woman in the Mirror

Yesterday, my morning prayer was: “Lord, please make me a reflection of You! May others see You in me!” Immediately, I heard, in my head, Michael Jackson’s song “I’m Looking at the Man in the Mirror”. I knew why. Days before, my debonair grandson who knows how to get to me, will either talk about his Papa or he'll pull up a song from my era (Elvis, the Beatles, Michael Jackson, etc.) on his iPhone playlist while we're driving. He asks: “Nana, do you remember this one?” Oh yes I do! He is a charmer and knows how to “ring my bell”! Michael's song went like this:
"I'm starting with the man in the mirror.
I'm asking him to change his ways.
And no message could have been any clearer.
If you want to make the world a better place.
Take a look at yourself, and then make a change."

Certainly good words to live by – being honest about who we are and what we can do to change our ways. Instead of looking at the faults in others, to look inward at ourselves. I get that, but my prayer yesterday was for the reflection I see to be my Lord.

Every day, we come face to face with a glance or a hard look at ourselves in a mirror. That first glance can often be a bit scary – our hair going every which way, eyes dazed, faces with creases from a hard sleep. Sometimes, facing our mirror and our reflection isn’t exactly a pleasant experience. Mirrors are brutally honest. They don’t lie. They don’t hide the wrinkles, the flaws, the signs of aging. They don’t typically say back to us “You’re looking good today!” They usually tell us to make some adjustments: comb your hair, put on a little make-up or for men – shave that “5 am shadow”. Actually, mirrors are a good thing. We face the truth, make some changes and feel a little better about facing the world.

But, this day – I wasn't asking God for that mirror. I asked for the mirror, or the reflection, looking back at me to be a reflection of Jesus. That can be a difficult reflection to see. Like that Michael Jackson song, looking at the man or woman in the mirror is more about the inside than the outside. Getting a clear vision of what needs to change. To look with eyes wide-open at the character flaws or the obvious lack of the Fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control that is needing some adjustments.

James 1:23-24 says "Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.” That scripture implies we don't want to seriously confront that "man or woman in the mirror".

When we look at the mirror for exterior perfection, we'll never find it. But, if we start our day, each day, with that first prayer of asking to be a reflection of Jesus, we'll start to see His character, His beautiful grace and love to a hurting world instead of placing importance on make-up, shine-up, or dress-up.

The best mirror for checking out ourselves is the perfect mirror of God's Word ... Holy Scriptures. And, the only perfect image is Jesus. From that perspective, we can daily examine ourselves in THAT mirror and ask the question: Am I being all that God that God has called me to be? Am I allowing Him to mold me? Instead of looking at the man in the mirror and asking him to change his ways, we look to our perfect Make-up and Shine-Up Artist (for inside and out perfection) to transform us into His reflection by filling us full of His light and His glory! Then we will reflect His love, His truthfulness, His joy, His forgiveness and mercy to others, His selflessness, His servitude. That's the woman in the mirror I want to see and be! How about you?

Till There Was You

I was recently driving my 14-year-old grandson to school when he asked: "What's your favorite song, Nana?" Without much thought, I said, “‘Till There Was You” and I proceeded to explain that song was Papa’s and my wedding song. He had his phone connected by Bluetooth and searched for it and up came the Beatle’s rendition. We listened to the whole song and, to my astonishment; he said: “I like that song!” I went on to tell him that we loved going to musical theater performances and that song was from “The Music Man”. I’m sure he was in a fog about that production, but I was pleased with his acceptance of my “oldie but goodie”.

During the tenderness of the Christmas season, I was having the sweetest of times with God one morning and I started singing that song, but this time I wasn’t singing it to my sweetheart but to God. And the words are so befitting to a relationship before Christ, and after falling in love with Him.

"There were bells on a hill, but I never heard them ringing!
No, I never heard them at all, till there was YOU!
There were birds in the sky, but I never saw them winging!
No, I never saw them at all, till there was YOU!
Then there was music and wonderful roses.
They tell me, in sweet fragrant meadows of dawn and dew.
There was love all around, but I never heard it singing.
No, I never heard it at all, till there was you.”

That’s how I feel about my Lord – who turned my sadness, gloom, despair into joy and gladness. He gave me purpose and hope. Now I see through rose-colored glasses of positivity and great expectation every day. My family and I went to see the new “Mary Poppins Returns” movie on Christmas Eve. Yes, we are that family that embraces “good feeling, happy ending” movies. Afterward, my granddaughter said, “I guess that’s what life on drugs is like!” We laughed, but my daughter, with her Godly insight, said, “That’s what perspective looks like. Most people escape their realities by drugs or other vices to have a utopic experience. But those of us in Christ with Holy Spirit living in us have those experiences because Holy Spirit enables us to have joy in the midst of fear; gladness instead of sadness; peace instead of turmoil; hope instead of hopelessness; love instead of hate; dancing instead of mourning.

Maybe you’d like to get off the doom and gloom track and get on board this “Joyful, joyful we adore You!” train, too! It sure makes for a gumdrop and roses and whiskers on kitten kind-of-day and life. Let me introduce you to the Conductor! He’s known as the Prince of Peace, the Solid Rock, the Great I Am! Once you get to know Him, you, too will be singing “There were bells on a hill and I never heard thing ringing – no I never heard them at all TILL THERE WAS YOU!

“You turned my mourning into dancing; You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing Your praises and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks forever.” Psalm 30:11,12

What's the First Song You Think of With a Color in It?

This post today was prompted by someone’s FB post I saw yesterday. They said, “What’s the first song you think of with a color in it?“ I didn’t respond on the post but my mind started racing with songs with color in them. My first thought was to one of my favorite singers in the 60s, Bobby Vinton, and his song, “Blue on Blue – heartache on heartache”. Oh me. I didn’t like the negativity of that one and so I thought about another of his songs “Blue Velvet” but, in that one, he’s thinking about blue velvet through his tears, and then I thought about Bobby Darin’s (same era) “Red Roses for a Blue Lady” , but it talks about the silly quarrel he and his girl friend had. Then I thought about “Yellow Submarine” – a hit by the Beatles (same era) which was an imaginary song of living under the sea – a little more positive than singing the “blues”! LOL! I guess the older I get, the more I think about the "oldies", and the closer to God I get, the more I don't sing those songs anymore.

I grew up in an evangelical, traditional church and sang most songs from hymn books, which presented a stark contrast to those 60s "bluesy" songs. Being a Christian back then was all I knew because of my Bible-toting, church-attending, prayer-praying family. My faith experience included being around other faithful men and women of God who taught Sunday School, (my dad was the Sunday School Superintendent) and my mom served on many committees and led many prayer groups. I don’t ever remember not wanting to go to church I grew up loving God’s Word and His church.

Before long, a new style of Christian music was introduced to me. My boy friend (who eventually became my husband) and I fell in love with Andrae Crouch and the Disciples’ and Bill and Gloria Gaither’s music – catchy songs with choruses that inspired passion and emotion. Those songs depicted a faith in God that was alive and relevant to what we were going through at the time. Something stirred within me as I listened to that music. Something was happening in my heart, beyond the love I had for my cute boy friend. My faith was expanding from head-knowledge to life-changing, heart knowledge.

I still can picture us at a sold-out music hall before a live “Jesus” concert as people were swaying and waving their hands in the air for love of Jesus. It wasn’t the “traditional” way of singing. Quite frankly, it was undignified, but oh so liberating and I knew I wanted more of that all out abandonment love for Jesus and wanting to express it so much.

We were “extreme” Dallas Cowboy fans back then – when they first became a franchise – and we were completely undignified in our support of “our team”. We would whoot and holler and carry on as we watched the games like crazy, fanatical people. So praising God for Who He was in our lives -- from the tips of our toes to the tips of our fingers – made perfect sense in support of “our God”! We didn’t worry at all about what others thought.

Think about the story of King David dancing before the Lord. He sure didn’t worry what others thought. David had overseen the return of the ark of the Lord, and as it neared, he couldn’t contain his joy. He replaced his kingly attire with a simple outfit and danced with all his might. His wife, Michal, didn’t approve of David’s behavior. She was disgusted with him and told him so. David wasn’t fazed and responded with words that encourage me today: "It was before the LORD, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the LORD’s people Israel — I will celebrate before the LORD. I will become even more undignified than this …” (2 Samuel 6:21-22).

That’s my hope and prayer for myself. I want my longing for more of God to help me completely release my fears and worship with uncontained joy. Someday, some folks may look at me and think that I’m too old to dance and whoot and holler, but I hope I’ll still be lifting my wrinkled hands in praise with my gray head bobbing and my body swaying in worship — still wanting more. And then one day, beyond that, all my longings will be fulfilled because I'll be completely and totally in His presence and worshiping Him face to face. Oh, what a day that will be!

John 4:23, “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.”