That unfriendly mirror in the foyer!

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Today's Precious Prodigal's Post = http://bit.ly/1N8t9Pf

Title: That unfriendly mirror in the foyer!

Hashtags: #Godsstillworkingonme #growingingrace

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2 Peter 1:9 “But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.”

There are three mirrors in our home that I use more often than the rest. Those are the large mirrors over my bathroom vanity, the full-length mirror in my bedroom, and the one on the wall in our foyer.

When I get up each morning, that bathroom mirror is essential. It’s where I brush my teeth and generally make myself presentable. The full-length mirror gets a workout as I coordinate my outfits and…well, if you’re a lady, you already know.

Although I use those mirrors daily, they don’t show the “real” Rita or even a true reflection of me. Perhaps it’s the lighting in those rooms, but they tend to blur the wrinkles and tired eyes and make me look better than I really do. The presentation isn’t the true picture.

To see the “real” me, I need that brutally honest foyer mirror with its pure and revealing natural light. It shows me what I really look like and doesn’t let me lie to myself. If I avoid that foyer mirror for too long, I begin to buy into the false image of myself I see in that friendly bathroom mirror, and I forget who I really am.

If we don’t have any of those things…virtue, knowledge, self-control, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love…that should be a red flag. Why? If we aren’t going forward, we’re going backward. If we aren’t improving, we’re growing worse. If we’re not growing, we’re dying. That’s true about everyone, but it’s even truer about people in recovery, whether it’s the alcoholic or addict or those who love him.

That we are told to “diligently add” those things to our faith implies that it’s both a choice and a process, and people who are really in recovery will begin to grow. I’ve seen it happen with many people in recovery, whether they were in AA, Celebrate Recovery and Alanon. One thing they all had in common is that their lives began to change when they chose recovery.

It doesn’t happen immediately, nor should we expect it to because growth is a process. However, as our faith grows, we almost can’t help but add those virtues. And if we don’t have any of those things, it’s probably because we have forgotten that God has done for us what we could not do for ourselves.

A friend was celebrating 10 years of sobriety, and she asked me to go see her get her 10-year chip. When someone asked her how she did it, her answer was simple: “I did it by remembering.” When I asked her later what she meant, she said, “I’ve forgotten a lot of things in my life. But I’ve never forgotten what it was like to be without hope.”

Do you remember what it was like when you were without hope? Our text verse tells us that if we lack those things, we’ve forgotten the terrible life God rescued us from. I know it’s a process, and it may be others will see the growth in you and me before we see it ourselves. But if there is no growth, if there is no progress, and if we don’t see the need for that growth, we might be looking in the wrong mirror.

Challenge for Today: What might happen if we, just for today, remembered the way it used to be and asked God to help us grow?