mirror, mirror

summer is fast approaching, and we had our last small group last night with our sophomore ladies. in a week or so, they'll be our juniors. no longer able to pass themselves off as sorta-newbies, but real-deal upper classmen.
we've been journeying through captivating, by stasi eldredge, and it's been a sweet journey. i love being a leader… even though i often feel ill-equipped or unworthy of such a huge responsibility. i feel like i grow as much as they do through our time in the Word, or just in sharing life with these young ladies.
we had a great time last night… time rich with conversations and sharing hearts. no agenda, no lesson… just honest (and sometimes gritty) words straight from the heart. these are my favorite kinds of nights because oftentimes the leaders can tend to want to do too much (like read the book to the girls because they oftentimes will come quite ill-prepared) and it's not long before we're noticing the glassy eyed stares of girls who've checked out.
some of the things we talked about as we were recapping the ideas that have resonated from this semester is the idea that we women are created in His image. that we represent the kinder/gentler characteristics of God. that we are the jewel in the crown of creation. that adam wasn't enough… God created woman to be adam's help-mate, his ezer kenegdo, or his life-saver who walks beside him (not two steps behind). that we are beautiful… a masterpiece made by the master-craftsman. and despite what we think of ourselves, that we are beautiful. God made us singularly, uniquely us. just like it would be unthinkable for a painting to go back to the artist and ask him why he put the flower there, in that color… why not make it blue instead of purple… how rude for the creation to ask the creator what were you thinking, making me this way?
unthinkable, but we do it all the time.
my co-leader then brought up something that i've really been chewing on since last night…
do you know when in history women became so captivated by how she looked and how others perceived her?
right about the time the mirror was invented.
and now, beyond the mirror, we are inundated with images of what we're to be. it's no wonder we struggle with body image and lament about our looks.
how would life be different if we didn't have mirrors? or images telling us what we're supposed to be like?
would we be so intent on comparing ourselves to others around us? comparing looks. homes. paychecks. kids. accomplishments. wardrobes. vacation destinations…
what if…