The Problem Was Never My Face

For years I’ve battled dark shadows under my eyes. Every morning I wake up, stand in front of the bathroom sink, and splash a handful of cold water over two purplish ruts settled just above my inner cheekbones. No concealer can cover them, no creams can fade them. This tired discoloration is etched into my face forever.

Or so I thought.

Until last weekend, when something miraculous happened. My family and I were staying in a hotel where the bathroom mirror lit up like a Hollywood dressing room. Its frame shone with little bulbs lining the perimeter, creating a glow in the center of the glass.

I dug into my makeup bag to grab the pink undereye color corrector I bought off Amazon a few weeks ago—my latest attempt at combating those dark circles—and when I raised my eyeballs to stare at my face, I startled at my own reflection. What the heck? I blinked, looked again.

The shadows were gone.

All I could see was a naturally even skin tone from eyes to chin.

I leaned closer. Moved my head from side to side. Scrunched my nose, lifted my eyebrows. No matter which way I examined myself, I could not detect the dull half-moons that used to glower at me every morning.

Could it be? All these years, the problem has never been my face.

It’s the light by which I see it.

“For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.” (Psalm 36:9)

God is like that hotel mirror. If we examine ourselves and our life circumstances in light of who God is and how He views us, we’ll see the truth: we’re beautiful, loved, and worth the price of the cross.

But if we look at ourselves in the shadows—far from God’s wisdom and protection—we’ll see a skewed representation of who we really are. We’ll start to believe we’re blemished and worn, when in fact Jesus already made us “white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18).

Clearly it’s time to replace my bathroom mirror. But more than that, this incident reminded me how necessary it is to stay close to God. The older I get, the easier it becomes to think I’ve already studied the Word, already attained my wisdom, already been-there-done-that in ministry and family and faith. But that’s when the shadows creep in—when we step away from a daily habit of standing in the light.

We’ve got to stay in the light.

How are you going to do it?

Me, I bought a new Bible this summer and I’m excited to keep peeling apart the fresh pages and marking up white space with the fancy pens and highlighters my daughter recommended. I’ve got friends who are learning calligraphy for Bible journaling, and women in my writing circles diving ever deeper into Scripture so they can write their next books fueled with His words more than their own. And seminary! Do you know how many women in their 50s and 60s are enrolling in grad school to study theology so they can know God better, serve others better, SEE the world with better God-shaped eyes? It’s amazing.

And that’s who I want to be, too. A woman who refuses to step out of the light, no matter how old I grow.

Will you join me?

No makeup required.

Let’s see the world for what it really is: Filled with the goodness of God.