The mirror silhouettes in the storefront triggered an immediate discussion within me. From what I was willing to see, to the consistency (or lack of), to the statement my life is making, everything was on the table! I do not think my head cold helped. My running nose, blocked ears, and raspy throat contributed to an overall sense of tiredness and lethargy. Whatever the combination, my blunt response to myself and the voices within at the time was, “I do not want to have this discussion, at least not now.”
Time has passed, along with the cold, sniffles, and aches, and the question rising from the storefront mirrors remains. “If not now, then when?”
To anyone confronted by a mirror, the lessons for me that I can share include the following.
It is rarely easy to look in the mirror. In my mind, I am much younger than I appear in a reflection. I am lighter, more flexible, and fit. The older man I see reflects a life lived to the full. I may be young in my mind but there is an age within that I do not always grasp. A reflection forces me to confront the differences. In the good and the bad, living with my imagination is often the easier path.
When there is an inconsistency between what I see and what I imagine, denial is often the first response. I know my denials are pointless. Yet, I find myself trying to repeat them, if only to convince myself. The advice I find myself holding to is old; “If you’re not sure, if you notice that you are acting in ways inconsistent with what you believe – some days trying to impose your opinions on others, other days just trying to please them – then you know that you’re out of line. If the way you live isn’t consistent with what you believe, then it’s wrong.” (Romans 14.23)
Today I can true up my image. Each discrepancy is a call to action, one step to take. The mirror is on my side.
