We had a beautiful hotel room, very well equipped. The bathroom was gorgeous and, I was happy to discover, it had it all—a tub, a shower, hair dryer and a make-up mirror. What? A make-up mirror? I was thrilled. Since I have “older” eyes, I never travel without a magnifying mirror, but one built in the room is always a plus. 

However, I soon discovered, the bathroom was poorly lit. I decided to take the mirror into the bedroom and sit by the window.  I got all nice and comfy, eager to leisurely apply my makeup while I listened to the daily news. The make-up mirror indeed had the two sides I needed–one that is normal and one that magnifies. I quickly flipped the mirror over to the magnified side, grabbed my eyeliner, looked into the mirror and almost screamed in horror. At first, I wasn’t sure which was to blame, the magnified mirror or the light coming in the window. I was sure that one of them was responsible for making the imperfections on my face seem as prominent as a worm on a rose. 

As I forced myself to look back into the mirror, it soon became apparent that the biggest condemning thing was the light coming in the window. I noticed that if I just moved the slightest bit, keeping the light coming in directly on my face, I looked so much better. But, moving it just slightly, where the light couldn’t reach my face aged me 10 years! UGH! NOBODY NEEDS THAT! Then it hit me. Isn’t this a truth that we all really know? It’s the reason makeup mirrors have lights and our teens are begging for those ring lights. (Yes, look them up.) Lighting is everything. 

I have heard this over and over as I have worked on my photography skills for many years. One time I even hired a professional photographer to spend time with just me and the four lights that I had temporarily nailed to a wall in order to learn more about the art of proper lighting. Yes, I’ve learned a few lessons, but obviously not enough as I discovered trying to apply my makeup that day in the poorly-lit hotel room. While I don’t mind getting up there in years, I do appreciate lighting that makes it not so obvious.   

How does this silly makeup lighting trick apply to my spiritual life? If we view things through the light of the world, an unforgiving shadow is casts on whatever it is we are viewing. But if we view it through the light of God, a forgiving shadow is cast and the object appears softer and smoother. The world’s light does nothing to bring out the best in us. It is dimmed by tragedy and heartache and rarely does it want to show the good in people. 

How awesome it is to think of God’s light shining on us. Oh, how I love to walk outside on a cold day only to be greeted by the warmth of the sun on my face! That’s how I picture God shining down on me—full of warmth and all things comforting. 

Think about the apostle Paul whose vision was blinded by the God’s light, yet the same blinding light allowed him to see clearly God’s plan for his life. Because of God’s light showing Paul the way, he freely and openly let his own light shine for others to see. 

That’s our challenge, isn’t it? Every day as you do something as mundane as looking in your makeup mirror, use it as a time to remind you of God shining His light on you and, then, think about how you can shine your light on others.