I love to see reflections in the water. Sometimes, the reflection is so true to form, and looks so much like what is being reflected. Other times, it looks so different. Ripples in the water, lighting,  and angles can make a big difference in how accurate the reflection looks.  The above photo isn’t clear, or an accurate representation at all, but I still loved the way it looked. And even if it doesn’t look quite like the plant that is being reflected does, it is still a reflection of that plant by the water’s edge.

And I get that.

Because sometimes, we are like that plant- but a mere reflection of what or who we are. Folks might see us in this light or that, or be coming at us from this or that angle. There might be turbulence in the water that distorts the image represented. There might be a misrepresentation based on the reflection seen.

But here’s the cool thing. The reflection doesn’t change the substance, no matter how much the perception might feel like it does. We are who we are. Good or bad. (Or good and bad.) And reflections of who we are in the minds of others is never going to be 100% 20-20.. It’s just not.  Good or bad.  But thankfully, there is One with clear vision who sees us with 100% acuity. (That’s way better than 20-20…it’s multi-dimensional, inner, outer laser vision through and through.) And here’s the miracle…He sees the substance..the real deal, the genuine bona-fide, no holds barred pure substance…not just the reflection we have in a certain light…..He sees the substance of who we are and adores us through it all. “He loves us with an everlasting love. ”  Everlasting is faithful and true and doesn’t change. It doesn’t ebb and flow with the tide or the sunset or the current situation. It stays the same.

I love the part of Psalm 23 that says, “He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul.”  And maybe that time at quiet waters can be a time of reflection. Am thinking that reflection on who we are can change with the tide and with the lighting and with our current view…but thankfully, when we reflect on who HE is, what He says, what He has done, then what is reflected back in our hearts and minds is restoration…Restoration of who we are because of who He is. I am thinking that is the thing that restores deeply and reminds us of who we are….remembering who He is — the Everlasting God whose love is redemptive and restorative.   Yes, “He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul”… prayers that His grace covers us with His love that changes the reflection we see, not just in ourselves, but in others. I don’t know about you, but I can have a pretty skewed representation or view of yours truly at times. Living life can distort things sometimes. But there’s a cleansing and renewal and getting-back-to-basics that comes with taking time to reflect, to be renewed. I love how reflecting on who God is can change how we view our world… and the reflections that we see.

I love the quote by C.S. Lewis that says, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”   I’m guessing that “everything” includes even how we view ourselves, our neighbors, our (dare-I-say it) enemies . Grace changes everything….and hopefully our view of everything.  May our lives be a reflection of that…
By His Grace~
Heather

“He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul…”

Psalm 23:2