My husband thinks I look great here and I think the same about him. Our moms think we're both gorgeous.
I don’t like having my picture taken. It’s not the process so much as the results. How many times have you looked at a picture of yourself and thought about how fantastic you looked? It’s usually more along the lines of, “I’ll have to burn that shirt when I get home.” Or, “Did I completely forget to do my hair and makeup?”
So when my picture recently ran in the newsletter at work, I wasn’t exactly thrilled. It’s an okay picture, which is probably the best I can hope for. The newsletter arrived at the house and my husband was flipping through it. “Hey, there’s a picture of you,” he said. I cringed. “You look great. But then, you always take a good picture.”
Um, what? And then it hit me. a) I’m my own worst critic. And b) my husband wasn’t looking at a picture of “Sarah,” he was looking at a picture of his beloved wife. And he liked what he saw.
It reminded me that God doesn’t look at us and see crazy messes who can’t get it right. He looks at us and sees His beloved children. It also reminded me that I’m not supposed to be counting the flaws I see in other people. I’m supposed to be seeing my brothers and sister–just as beloved by God as I am.
Editor who’s taking forever to respond? Beloved child of God.
Family members making me crazy? God dotes on them.
Co-workers who are challenging to work with? God is wild about them.
Church members not behaving like I think they should? Adored by God.
It’s so easy to look at the people around me with critical eyes. When I catch myself doing it, I need to stop and try to look at them through God’s eyes. The eyes of . . . love.
Pictures of us are something like looking in the mirror, with one exception. As I get older I like looking in the mirror much more than I like looking at a picture of me. Why? Because as I age, the mirror becomes a more important tool for living. Every morning when I awaken, I immediately go into the bathroom and look in the mirror. Then I breathe on it. If fog forms, that’s a fantastic start to my day! You can’t fog pictures, but fogging mirrors is a wonderful tool for gauging life.
Steve, you crack me up!
What a good observation and reminder. AND you sounded a bit like Max Lucado! 😉
So long as I don’t LOOK like Max ; )
Sarah, this is great. I am printing a copy to share with my church on Sunday. I’m the Lay Leader this week and we always bring in something to start the service with. We’ve been featuring “love” lately. I hope you don’t mind!
Oh, that’s so cool! I’m glad you’re sharing it.