Who's that in the mirror?

"Until you make peace with who you are,
you will never be content with what you have."

- Doris Mortman

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A middle-aged woman had a heart attack and was rushed to the emergency room.

On the operating table she had a near-death experience; seeing God, she asked if this was it. He said, "No, you have another forty-three years, two months, and eight days to live."

Upon recovery, she decided to stay in the hospital and have a face-lift, liposuction, a tummy tuck, the whole works. She even had someone come in and change her hair colour, figuring that since she had so much life remaining, she might as well make the most of it.

She was discharged after the final procedure; however, while crossing the street outside, she was killed by a speeding ambulance.

Arriving in God's presence, she fumed, "I thought you said I had another forty-plus years."

He replied, "I didn't recognize you."


(Excerpt from "Imitation is Limitation" by John Mason, Bethany House Publishers)

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Many of us go through our lives re-inventing ourselves at different crossroads, mostly so when we are down and outright unhappy with what we are and what we have, compared to those we choose to compare ourselves with.

Did any of the "masks" that you have chosen to put on at various times made a profound difference to who you really are and what you ultimately see of yourself right now?

Did it manage to fool a lot of people? Was it hard to keep up with the multiple personalities that comes with each different mask that you wear at different times? Did you ever had an embarrasing moment when you slipped up because you got confused by who you were supposed to be with whom?

I have come across so many people who are never happy nor satisfied with their lot even though it appears to me that there is much to be thankful for in their lives. In the end, all that unhappiness and dissatisfaction showed on their tight faces and abused bodies. No amount of face creams and spa treatments can undo the continuing mental assault that goes on day after day.

Sometimes we only see what we wish to see in that mirror on the wall. And if mirrors can laugh, we might have the misfortune of seeing it crack up at the delusions we created in them.