"Mirror, Mirror"

I try not to take for granted the gifts God gives to me in my counseling ministry. Although I am technically considered the"expert" in the eyes of my clients as they stare at the degrees on my wall, I learn a great deal from their lives. I consider each client's journey a sacred trust that I have been given as I enter into their life's story. Recently, a client was sharing with me how she had found new life in studying dance. This woman had just emerged from some difficult situations that she is still in the process of grieving. However, she found dance to have freed her from bondage and released the creative gifts with which God has blessed her. One of the issues she expressed struck me on a deeper level. She reported how in studying dance one has to use a mirror to make sure your body is in the appropriate position to execute the required dance moves. Similarly when entering a competition, a mirror was necessary to put on one's make-up. The woman confessed that mirrors were a challenge for her in that she never wore make-up or had the need to really look at herself in the mirror. I responded to the woman and noted that we as believers all have a "growing edge." It is a place or situation we want to avoid or hide from so we don't have to face the realities that need to be unmasked. In other words we don't have to embrace the things that God wants us to see so we can grow closer to Him. I suggested to this woman that this avoidance of looking into a mirror was perhaps one of her growing edges. Maybe God wants her to look at herself and see the beautiful woman He has created and then express that beauty through the joy of her dancing. Through the creativity of her dancing, she can rejoice in the Lord as the psalmist declares, "For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well." (Psalm 139:13-14) I was challenged to think about my own growing edges. Can I look into that "mirror" at those situations and circumstances that I want to avoid and be sensitive to what the Spirit is trying to teach me about myself and my relationship with God? When I face those challenges can I express my gratitude to the Lord in some creative way? Do I truly embrace the fact that God's works are wonderful and know that full well because I am one of those works? The growing edges in our lives are not meant to shame or embarrass us but rather help us to understand just how much God wants to transform us closer to the image of His Son so like my client we can freely express all that God created us to be. So what is your growing edge? What bondage is holding you back from being truly free in Christ? Ask the Lord to reveal these growing edges to you so you can with heartfelt praise declare, "I am fearfully and wonderfully made!"
Blessings In Christ!
Pastor Sheree