If You Were A Mirror, What Would You Reflect?

For some time now I have found it amusing to listen to how people describe one another.  If you were to describe someone, how would you do it?  Would you talk about their hair color? Eye color? Height?  Weight?  Skin color?  Financial status?  Societal Status? Personality? Abilities or disabilities?

I think the way we describe someone is a reflection of our heart.  It reveals what is important to us.  It can reveal our perspective on people.  Once I had a child describe me as "having wild grey hair and cool clothes."  One of my personal favorites is, "She likes to play with God" which was written on a little balloon.  If you heard either of these descriptions you would instantly have a specific impression of me.  On the negative side you might heat someone describe me as "older and overweight."  A description like this one would give you another impression.

At times I like to mess with people a little bit when I am describing someone.  I like to leave out a defining detail that would make it easy for someone to locate an individual.  It makes you have to think, be a little more observant, and even get to know people.  If I describe a person only by their personality, for example, it makes it a little tougher.

In disability ministry trainings I have attended, I have often been told "to look at the person, not the wheelchair."  There are a number of things to ponder in that statement.  I guess over the years I have worked on training myself to look into the eyes first.  I do think so much about one's soul are revealed through the eyes.  I would much rather start with the eyes than the waistline, or clothes, or piercings.  For those with visual impairment, their souls are displayed just as powerfully in other ways.

For awhile I tried to not notice the disability at all but focus on other aspects of the person.  I think this is good but abilities and disabilities are a part of who we are.  Once we have a filter that allows us to see people as God sees them, we will be able to take in the whole person, created in God's image, with a powerful purpose, ordained by God.

If you were a mirror for someone else, what would you reflect?  Would you only choose the parts of them that you understood or mattered to you?  Or would you reflect the whole person knowing God has a plan and a purpose for every aspect of them?

As David Siek, a good friend, once told me, "Look Into Their Eyes."  Look into the eyes of a person first to find your description and then feel comfortable embracing all of them, abilities and disabilities, because God can use every part of us to show His glory and purpose.