I don’t know about you, but I don’t particularly care to look at myself in the mirror. I see my imperfections … every single one of them … and I feel unhappy. Yet, seeing those flaws helps me decide how to address them. When I saw my first gray hair, for example, I just yanked it out and I felt better :)

I have another mirror that sees me for who I really am: my husband.

The past several weeks have been filled with circumstances that just left me feeling emotionally weary. Day after day I simply went through the motions. It seemed like there was a dark cloud hovering over me that I couldn’t quite escape.

Finally, I shared my thoughts with my husband. I’m not sure if I even made any sense. What happened next is what has occurred several times in our marriage. My husband listened. His face reflected compassion. Then, he spoke with empathy. My husband identified how each challenge I listed had a common theme. While I was unable to see the big picture, this grace filled conversation helped me see the areas I needed to address to walk away from this cloud.

Authors Gary and Betsy Ricucci said, “One of the best wedding gifts God gave you was a full-length mirror called your spouse. Had there been a card attached, it would have said, ‘Here’s to helping you discover what you’re really like!’’

Friends, there have been plenty of moments in our marriage that I did not think of my mirror as a gift. I mean, it’s so much easier to point out my husband’s flaws and help fix him. But to look at me and fix me … oh that hurts too much! Yet, as I look back on the many moments that my husband has helped me see my imperfections, I am now filled with gratitude. Once I saw them, I knew I had to work on fixing them, which in turn has helped me become more like who I am created to be: a child of God.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, “encourage one another and build each other up” and that is what my mirror has done for me. I pray that God can help each of us see our spouses as a gift when they are a mirror and may we ultimately reflect the likeness of our Father. 

~Joyce

*Photo from Pexels