Reflections expose a beauty that looks familiar yet also not quite what we expected. A walk by the water is a journey of reflections on a sunny day. Majestic trees become smaller as you peer at them in the water. The sun’s light bounces off the water as if it is trying to stretch from water to sky. The beauty of the objects reflected in the water take on an ethereal allure that captivates as well stops you mid step to get a closer look. But I wonder if you feel the same way about your own reflection in the mirror. Does it captivate you to take a second look? Let’s take a closer look at reflections in a mirror today.

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As you see from my pictures, I truly am amazed at the beauty in reflections. When I apply this to myself, not so much. My morning begins catching my reflection as I stumble out of bed toward the bathroom. Believe me, some mornings it’s enough to have me running back to bed and hiding under the covers. God continues to gently pull the covers away to teach me I am beautiful and loved. He beckons me to look deeper at who I am and His purpose for me, which requires gazing into the mirror for a closer look.

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I am learning over and over that our purpose and plan come with a responsive action. It is not hiding our reflection from others but letting it be the light that God meant for it to be. Are there areas in your life that require you to do more than talk about what you are going to do? Is it time to move from purpose to action?

God has given me hope as my one word this year. Hope in blessings, hope in Him and hope that my future is in His hands. God has also provided an undercurrent that is pushing me to “go big or go home”. That’s the scary part of looking deep into my reflection.

[Tweet “There is strength in opening our hearts in a stance of vulnerability and transparency.”]

My church began a gathering called Undivided several weeks ago. Our campus pastor was called by God to begin the process of racial reconciliation. It is meeting in the church setting to begin conversations, develop a connection that leads to relationships, the chance to seek forgiveness and speak in love and grace. When God calls you to it, He brings Himself into the midst to lead the way. My simple words cannot begin to describe the strength of opening our hearts in a stance of vulnerability and transparency. Sharing our stories on a deeper level has exposed individual reflections in a mirror. But a beginning needs to play out into a middle and an end reaching the goal that God has had in mind all along. The goal that we accept all people as children of God, continue to speak in love and serve others as a gift to them and God.

[Tweet “Allow your beginnings to play out into a middle, stretching toward an end that is God-ordained.”]

I love the boldness that God calls each of us to as we pray and live out His plan for us. I have two online friends who pray the prayer of boldness in the area of racial reconciliation. Deidra Riggs provides specific steps to make small changes in your own community. She never fails to inspire and embolden me to go further than saying I am going to do something and then never follow through. My other friend, Lisha Epperson, writes with a grace that is only superseded by how she lives her life. She reminds us we live in a flawed world, but also shares how God puts us in community to “engage each other over things we don’t understand”.

It all starts with our own reflection in the mirror. It is looking closely and digging deeper into who we are and who God has called us to be. It is taking that first step but not stopping there because we have only stepped into the beginning. It is allowing God to answer those bold prayers with His answers and letting His answers be enough.

Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. 1 Corinthians 13:12

Pray boldly, embrace the answers and love the reflection in the mirror because God is trusting with you with new beginnings, middles and ends.

Will you go big or go home into your own new beginning by letting God lead you toward the middle and end?

Blessings of grace along the way,

Mary

Blessed to be linking up with these fabulous ladies!

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and Dawn for Grace Moments

 

 

 

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