The other day, I walked into the Starbucks where I was previously employed cause…you know… “Sometimes you wanna go, where everybody knows your name……” Uh…yeah…anyhoo…when I walked in, I saw my former manager putting up a display so I said “hey…how are you?”(whenever I go in during one of her shifts, we chat). She looks up and responds with, “Hello Alecia, how are you? Oh my gosh! You have lost weight! I mean, you look good but you have really lost weight.” I reply with, “really???” I must have looked shocked because she goes on to say how obvious it is and asks me if I’d tried to. Well, I haven’t but the eating adjustments that I’ve made have, I guess, adjusted my size as well. LOL! In fact, I’ve noticed in the way my clothing fits but when I look in the mirror, I don’t see a change but apparently everyone else does. I told her that I don’t see a difference but it doesn’t bother me that I don’t see it since I wasn’t looking to lose the weight to begin with.
She then s
..she made me think about it an entirely different light. There will always be someone (or someones) that sees more about you than you are capable of seeing about yourself. You ever wonder why people treat you a certain way, or ask you to do certain things that you don’t feel you can accomplish? Have you ever been asked to do something and the person asking didn’t even know why they chose you??? Well, sometimes, it’s because they see past your current state and they can see what you are becoming. Often, it takes another person to point out our skills and talents because we will hide behind what we are accustomed to doing. If we are not careful, we will miss the opportunity to step into a new arena. I am convinced that God places people in our lives or just along our path to help cultivate what is within us because otherwise, we’d ruin EVERYTHING.
On the flip side of that, there are times when others can see that you’ve “lost weight”…that you are lacking…that you have lost your passion for what you do. There has been a time or three in the past when I didn’t realize that I’d declined in my desire to do a thing and someone came to me and let me know that they could tell. I’m sure that there have been times when you’ve ignored the reflection in the mirror and chalked it up as the usual. In the same token that He allows others to point out our greatness, I believe that God allows others to help us see what we lack.
The Bible says, in 1 Samuel 16:7, “But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” This scripture is from the time that the Lord sent Samuel Jesse the Beth-lehemite because He had chosen a king from amongst his sons. Now, all of Jesse’s older boys were “strapping” young men but NONE of them were the king. The Lord chose David, the smallest, most scrawny of them all (the scripture calls him “ruddy”). This scripture is relevant because, often, WE SEE OURSELVES the way Samuel saw David, “ruddy” and unfit. But we must realize that God sees our hearts…..He places desire in our hearts, even though we are afraid to act on it.
When you look in the mirror, I challenge you to see GREATNESS. When you see YOU, you MUST SEE strength
It is through God and His word that you can realize that you truly are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalms 139:14) and that you were created in the “image” of God (Genesis 1:27). It is ONLY through God and His word that you will learn that it’s okay to be “peculiar” (1 Peter 2:9), and that it is necessary to be “separate” (2 Corinthians 6:17).
Be encouraged and I pray that you see you the way YOU are to be seen…don’t be afraid of the mirror!
Love y’all!
Ms. A.M.White
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