And yet, and yet…

As we near the end of the summer, I wondered at a certain word: Reflect. In particular the context of this question came from me challenging my staff from Psalm 90:12: “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” It was a reminder to consider the great opportunities we’ve experienced this summer in reflection.

But I thought about the oddness that we use a word that talks about an image being projected back at the originator to talk about thinking back on things. It’s not necessarily the first way I’d think about looking back. Why should reminiscing on past things equate to seeing a current image in the mirror?

And yet, it makes perfect sense. It’s strange to think that we don’t really ever know what we look like until we look in the mirror. I think about a time that one of my students went caving without a helmet on and walked into a group with blood covering his face, and he had no idea. Until we get beyond our own eyes, it can be hard to grip reality.

When it comes to our lives and memories, it’s helpful to get beyond our assumptions and current fears to understand reality. I find that upon reflection, I become overwhelmed with gratitude. The power of my insecurity wilts when I reflect on what God has done.

Because here’s the reality: when we take the time to consider our lives in the mirror, we cannot help but be awed that God has done a thing that we could never do. He has created a person of beauty, a workmanship (Ephesians 2:10), that with all of the difficulties and stresses of the world still speaks to a Creator who moves beyond us. It’s not without meaning that Psalm 90 begins, “Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” Rightly reflecting gives us glimpses into eternity, into meaning beyond just our current time.

So friend, as we enter a new season, reflect. Look beyond your personal impression of the world and your actions and see yourself in the light of the Creator. It’s when we consider our lives in the truth of Him that we “get a heart of wisdom.”