I caught a glimpse of my son admiring himself in the mirror today.
We love having mirrors in our house. It's a good way to open up a space and help brighten a room, so it wasn't difficult to catch my son's moment; right there in the kitchen looking into a full wall mirror that reflects our entire kitchen space. This boy is the ripe age to be aware of himself: pure adolescence... Nowhere near teen, but certainly not a little guy anymore.
He had a pair of ear buds in his ears and the cord traveled all the way down his body and trailed off into... nothing. No device was attached. I watched as he slipped it into his pocket and pretended to have something super important attached to his ear buds. The look on his face as he admired his reflection showed me he felt like this accessory gave him an extra boost of "cool". If I could caption his nodding head and his pursed lips on his face, it might say, "These ear buds should tell you, I've got important things to do and important things to listen to, which means I, myself, am important."
I smiled.
He IS important.
He matters and is valuable.
He's talented, creative, fun, kind, amazing at listening, soft-hearted, athletic, smart, handsome, and deeply sensitive.
But in that moment, his significance was attached to something imaginary. Maybe an "emperor's new clothes" thing could actually take affect and other kids would believe his significance was instantly more substantial because of these earbuds. Maybe they'd feel this way even when they found out it wasn't attached to anything. But what was funny is, as a parent, I knew none of this matters.
I smiled even deeper.
For a glimpse, a split second, I saw how God sees us.
He fully loves us and is pleased with us. He may even find it endearing when we find ourselves cool. Our significance isn't diminished when we try to puff our status (we're off base, yes, but God doesn't use shame to knock us down to reality). He sees us as valuable and important APART from the extras and the "earbuds" that we use to increase our cool factor. And even if others are buying into our facade, God is never fooled.
His demeanor isn't laced with pride, like, "How dare you think you can try to pull a fast one on me and trick me into thinking you're worthy!" Nope. God's not doing that. He's gentle and loving. He sees the beauty in our innocence and probably thinks, "He/She will see the truth someday." He continues to love us through it all.
When we think of how we matter, where we fit in (or don't), what we can do to become important, it's all just a pair of earbuds playing nothing in our ears, strung from a single cord, that's shoved into an empty pocket.
God knows better, sees it all, and loves every part of us.
Donna Harris
. . . . is a podcaster and professional photographer. As an Enneagram 4, she loves to sit in the hard moments because she’s found, if you endure long enough, you’ll find beauty and purpose. As a mom, she wants her children to strive for a balanced mind and a loving spirit. As a wife, she finds that her greatest challenge (and biggest reward) is selflessness. A midwestern gal, who longs for the bustle of the city life and the serenity of the beach, Donna shares her travels though photographing her adventures on Instagram.
www.constantlyunderconstruction.com
connect with Donna on Instagram @constantlyunderconstruction!
