Most of the time when I look in the mirror, I do not see myself. Yes, I see the gray hairs and aging face. I know that I am not in the same shape that I was a few decades ago. Even as I think of running forty-six miles, my longest distance, I know that it is a vision that will only be found in my mind. I am not sure what age I see myself as. I do know it is something north of university and south of the present.
When I see myself as I am, I find myself caught in the moment. It is an unusual moment because I am looking at the present from multiple perspectives. The past, the eyes of others, and what I imagine the future to be. As the perspectives swirl they become increasingly real. My imaginary reality becomes the moment.
I would like to suggest, to you as well as to myself, that there is an alternative. As I listened to a man looking back to a specific moment, I realized there are many ways others can see but only one way for the person at hand.
His defense was simple; “The only thing they have on me is that one sentence I shouted out in the council: ‘It’s because I believe in the resurrection that I’ve been hauled into this court!’ Does that sound to you like grounds for a criminal case?” (Acts 24.21)
He did not offer a personal opinion, merely asked the obvious question. He did not change the facts, simply recounted them with the willingness to be present in the moment at hand. He was not trying to change what he saw.
The face in the mirror can be riddled with flaws. Welcome be being human.
The face in the mirror will not have all the answers. S/he may not have any answers. Welcome to being real.
The face in the mirror may be frightened. Welcome to a real community.
Today’s mirror showed me more than I expected. I can do anything with it.
