Mirrors

Those of you that have visited my audio book review blog, “Reviews From The Deep”, have probably noticed that I am a big fan of Harry Potter. The other day, I was reading a short story called “The House of 1000Mirrors”, and it reminded me of something interesting from the first Harry Potter book, "The Sorcerer's Stone.” If you, reader, are a Potter fan, then you may have already guessed that the story reminded me of the Mirror of Erised, pronounced air-eh-said. The Mirror of Erised is, in my opinion, one of J K Rowling’s more fascinating creations. In a nutshell, it allows whoever is looking into it to see their greatest desire come true. Perhaps you noticed that Erised is desire spelled backward?

When Harry Potter looked into the Mirror of Erised, he saw his whole family standing all around him, looking back at him with approval and affection. Harry, of course, is an orphan who had no family, and what he was seeing was not real, it was merely his desire. Harry’s best friend Ron is the sixth child in his family. His older brothers were talented and popular and successful at school. When Ron looks into the mirror, he sees himself winning awards and trophies.

Harry, naturally, is completely enchanted by the Mirror of Erised, and he returns night after night for that brief glimpse of what his life might have been. Professor Dumbledor, headmaster of the school, finally intervenes, warning Harry that the mirror gives neither knowledge, nor truth, and that men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they see.

Clearly, this is a warning to all of us of how dangerous it can be to spend too much time wishing for a better life. God seems to be working very hard just lately to get that message through to me. Just yesterday, I was writing a blog about some of my childhood memories of going to the lake, and it turned into a reflection of how I should not wish to change my past. Then today I came across the story of “The House of 1000Mirrors", which made me think of the Mirror of Erised. And last week I was writing about how the little things in our lives can make a big difference, and that reminded me of Michael Jackson’s song “Man In The Mirror.” Not exactly the same message, but similar. Isn’t it fascinating how God uses our individual experiences to speak to us? Harry Potter and Michael Jackson were the perfect tools for God to reach me. God planted both of those seeds in me years ago, and waited until this precise moment in time to harvest them. Amazing.

So obviously this is something God wants me to understand. Stop fretting over the past, it’s over and done with and is completely beyond my ability to change. Focus on the things that are within my influence; the here and now. I think I understand, Lord, but I’ll keep my senses tuned in case there is more to this.

That just reminded me of something else. Hold on, I need to go look something up.

Okay, here it is. Most of you probably know this, but I don’t have it memorized. This is Reinhold Niebhur’s “Serenity Prayer."

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

I can’t say it any better than that. Thank you, God, for reminding me of this. I’ll have to work on memorizing that.

Check back tomorrow, reader. I’ll put up a copy of “The House of 1000 Mirrors."

1 Timothy 6:7-9 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.

Philippians 4:11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.

Little Things

Something happened today. It was just a small something, but it kind of got me thinking, so I decided to put it down in my blog.

A few days ago, I posted some blind observations, and I was talking about dropping things, and how hard it is to find them if they bounce or roll away. Well, today I was trying to get a fish oil pill out of the bottle and I dropped it. I take fish oil for my dry skin and it works very well, I highly recommend it. As soon as that pill slipped from my fingers, I thought “Well, that’s gone, I'll never be able to find it." They're kind of big gelcaps and they roll very industriously when dropped. I could feel my ears keening for the sound of the pill, in case I might be able to tell in which direction it scurried away, but that's when the little something happened. I heard the pill hit the floor, but then I felt something hit the top of my foot. I didn’t hear it hit the floor again after that, so I began to think I had gotten lucky. I bent down to feel for it, and sure enough, the pill had bounced right on top of my foot and caught in the folds of my pants where they bunch up there.

Pretty lucky, huh? Well, not really. I’ve said it before, I don’t believe in luck or coincidence any more. I had to give God a little thank you for that one. It was just a small thing, but it's those small things that can really make a big difference sometimes. Especially when you begin to notice how many of those little things happen each day.

I think it’s so important to take note of all the good things that happen to us each day, no matter how small or insignificant they may seem. It can be hard, sometimes it just doesn’t seem like anything good is happening, but if you really try, you can always find something positive. And with a little practice, you’ll start noticing good things all around you. If you keep it up every day, the next thing you know, your whole outlook on life might start to change.

Humm, that just reminded me of one of my favorite songs:

I’m starting with the man in the mirror.
I’m asking him to change his ways.
And no message could have been any clearer:
“If you want to make the world a better place,
take a look at yourself and make a change.”
Michael Jackson, “Man In the Mirror”

I can’t say it any better than that. Thanks MJ, and thank you, reader. See you next time.

Romans 8:38-39 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.