I'm convinced that the mirror in Rachel's bathroom hates me with a passion.
You see, when I am at my flat, I am used to the way I appear when I stand before it in the morning whilst I get ready for the day.
And yet when I am visiting Rachel in Bristol, as I am this weekend, I am constantly shocked by the way I look in a different mirror.
This other mirror has clearly not been in discussion with the mirror at my flat.
The mirror at Rachel's is more than happy to mercilessly expose the growing number of grey hairs emerging at the side of my head. It makes my skin look rubbish and my eyes even puffier and bag ridden than I had expected.
It's not always a pleasant experience to be shocked into seeing yourself as how you really look, especially when you have a perception of how you look to others. But it is necessary.
As well as the physical rude awakening yesterday, I had the same experience spiritually at the Good Friday service I went to.
I saw myself spiritually as I really am.
Ugly.
That no amount of hours invested in church related service can change that. Years of theological study cannot change that. Pretending to know and do the right thing cannot change that.
The only possible way that I have any hope of being changed from my spiritual ugliness is through what Jesus accomplished on the cross.
And I'll be forever grateful that He went through what He did.
For my sake.
And yours.
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A word about bathrooms, if you will.
Said bathroom in Paul's flat is a windowless room, lit by a single, energy-saving lightbulb. An economical and green way of illuminating the place, but somewhat dull.
Said bathroom in Rachel's house is east-facing, and painted an intesting shade of bright, light blue. The mirror is situated on a wall adjacent to an unblinded window, opposite clean white tiles.
This means that Rachel's bathroom catches the early morning light, and the walls reflect it around the room.
You seem to have stumbled across the essential problem of light, and that is that you just can't hide anything from it. When you are in the midst of it, you leave yourself exposed, confronting all the parts of you that you may wish you and others didn't have to see.
But is this such a problem?
Praise God that you have found your way into such a bright and glorious place, where you can face your inadequecies and find some grace.
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