I looked in the mirror this morning.  The face that looked back was lined and tired.  The eyes were still droopy.  Can that be me?   I walked away, wiped that image from my mind, and let my imagination see a face that “used to be.” 

I looked at my life in prayer.   What kind of person am I?   Was that sin really mine?   Was it me that disappointed, deceived, avoided, and judged those around me?  Then I went on with my day.   The reflection of a poor, wretched sinner faded away as I began to compare myself to others and began thinking that I’m not so bad after all.

Lent is a season for reflection, a season for examining who we are.  But walking away from that reflection without any change is a futile effort.

We read in the book of James, “Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.  But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”   James 1:23-25

Our God’s love is unconditional, his forgiveness is open to all who seek it.   Let’s make our Lenten reflecting a time to see ourselves honestly, to repent genuinely, and to fully accept the new image offered to us by our gracious God.

Judy