Blurred Beauty

A reflection of one self can sometimes be seen in and through our encounters with other people. This awareness of self is often seen through the eyes of another, by the alarming accuracy in their description of whom they see sitting before them. I have had one such encounter. Her name was Faiza. Not only after a very brief, yet animated introduction of myself, did she seem to understand my joys and struggles, but she also had the ability to paint the most accurate and colourful picture of exactly who I am, through her eyes. In this reflective state of one self comes amazement, yet fear, surrounded by awe in account of her ability to describe within a few minutes, what has taken you a lifetime to create.

It has been my journey, to discover and accept who I have become in God and because of God. This person, with which I am being shaped and moulded, is an eternal reflection of my surroundings and environment and those who influence my choices and thoughts. I am merely a reflection of their care, their love and their forgiveness. I have come to know in the depths of my soul, that God has graced me with His beauty and love. He has adorned me with talents and gifts, all to the glory of His name. With explosive passions and magical flight, I live my life surrounded by the bubble of protection, surely borne of God Himself. A romantic view of loving kindness, I give to the world what my eyes and heart cannot contain; God’s purest love and joy.

As part of our human self, we are forever changing, building from one experience to the next. Some reflections are not so favourable, some, not so forgiving. I speak of the natural controlling and planning persuasions that were at the forefront of the day. Every single thought was planned and carefully calculated only to be followed with the constant reminder to “Let go and let God”. Within moments failure would become us, and obsessive control would prevail. We would find ourselves planning something once again. Anything. We were mere reflections of each other.

The reflection in his eyes bodes softness like no other, a kindness that permeates the hardened walls of your heart. It is of a God whose soul expels Mercy and Grace, and is reflected in his humanness, humility and service. He is the Priest.

The simplest of men, with eyes closed, in prayerful thought, they sing praises of joy and peace. They have devoted their lives to the love of God, their every thought, every thanksgiving, every desire. They are the sheer reflection of a most merciful and loving God. In their small nods of thanksgiving, their slowness of breath, their patience and peace, we can only pray that the Lord our God transforms our lives in its complicating madness, into a mere fraction of what they reflect.

It is in the blurred reflection of the tree that sits on the edge of the pond, that we can be forever grateful to our beloved God, for showing us the beauty we all possess. He has taken our stark branches, in their rawness and transformed them into the soft reflections of who He is, through His eyes.

In service.