Mirror, Mirror on the Wall...

Mama used to say, "Buckle your seatbelts," when she had a long story to tell us.

She was quite a story teller.

So hold on and buckle up.

I ventured out today and found a new place to dig and plunder.  

Upon entering I was hit with a foul odor that almost turned me around.

It was a mix between a nasty trash dump and mold and mildew.

Some say it was under water during the Nasvhille 2010 flood.

Hey, but the thrill of the hunt will pull us junkers into some very strange and scary places.

I went to search for a couple of car seats. This place is like a salvage store 

that gets all the damaged boxes of merchandise from other retail stores. 

I didn't find what I was looking for but I did find this. 

The regular retail price was $20. (It's a small mirror) Their price was $8.

You are given an additional discount depending on the date on the item. 

It was dated 2/10/15 so I was hoping for a big discount.

When I went to check out, she said,"That will be 86 cents."

What??? You have got to be kidding.

It was a whopping 90% off. You can't find that kind of deal at Goodwill.

I like it. 

It's very Shabby Chic with the etching around it. 

I love mirrors.  

According to Wikipedia, a mirror image is a reflected duplication of an object 

that appears identical but is reversed.

While working with different youth groups, I would have them pass around a mirror and 

have them look at themselves. 

It's funny how some teenager guys liked what they saw and some of the girls passed the mirror 

quickly to the next person. 

That's not what I see today or maybe these girls are asking for validation. I'm amazed at all the selfies I see on facebook even of grown women.  Oh PLEASE!

But that's another soapbox.

When the mirror was back to me,

I'd ask these questions:

What do you see?

What do you want to see?

And what is going to take to get there?

Answers varied as did each individual.

It's amazing what you discover when you have a group of youth 

who have grown together, cried together, prayed together, loved and lost together. 

There's assimilation and trust that makes the group real with each other and 

not afraid of attacks from one another. A bond that is not easily broken.

There was always someone who would break down and admit they had failed God.

Sometimes we knew, sometimes we didn't.

Just one moment of vunerability and the rest of the group opens up.

A shy, self-concious 14 year old girl admits that she feels ugly or fat or too skinny.

"My daddy gets drunk and I'm scared.  Can I come live with you?"

"I did something really bad that no one knows about and I can't share with anyone."

"I went out with the guys last night and got drunk."

"I don't care if anyone likes me or not."  (so NOT true.)

Some things were shared alone, 

"I'm having sex with my boyfriend."  (I already knew. I just did.)"

"I had an abortion."

"I'm looking at girlie magazines." (There was no internet then.)

"I'm cheating on my boyfriend."

"I'm leaving home.  No one knows.  I've got to get out of there." (An abusive home)

The part I liked best was the answer at the end of the last question.

What do you want to see or Who do you want to be?

I've sat with teenagers on pews at church,floors at youth prayer meetings, on bunks in dorms, and around campfires at retreats. They don't usually see what I see.  They don't usually see their God-given potential.  They rarely see their beauty.

The Me I See may not be the real me. 

The Me You See may not be the real you. 

The Real You that God sees is wonderfully and fearfully made. That I know full well.

I've read Psalm 139. Read it.  You'll see!

God, help me to be the hands and feet of Jesus.  Forgive me when I judge what I don't understand.

May the reflection others see in me, be a reflection of You. 

Bonnie