• by Sharon Amali
• March 27, 2023

Today I looked into the mirror. I do that a lot of course - every day! Unlike most times, I was not looking for anything particular today. You see, the dress I had prepared for today is not nearly as catching to the eye as I would love for it to be. I wear this dress when I don’t want to be noticed. You are probably wondering why I would take the time to look into the mirror when I knew how I looked already. And my hair - today must be one of those bad hair days for me. All the same, I looked into the mirror.

Allow me describe to you who I saw in there staring back. Somebody smiling. I know she wore makeup but I didn’t quite catch it when I looked. She smiled at me, but all I saw was an emptiness in her. She bobbed her head to the right in an attempt to come across as fulfilled, as cheerful. But I could see through her efforts. Her face smiled, but in her eyes I could see sadness. So I failed to smile back at her. Then she also stopped smiling.

She is struggling, but she doesn’t know where to go for help. Well, maybe she knows – but she is too embarrassed to ask for help. You see, the person staring at me knows that there are things she does from time to time that are quite embarrassing to share with others.
Just the other day, she wanted to see a movie with a bowl of popcorn on the couch. She likes to do that sometimes. Then she remembered there was work pending. So she opted to finish the work first. When she finally came to the conclusion of the assignments she realized that her head was tired and she might not be able to see the movie to the end.

A thought then struck her, how else would she like to spend her time apart from movies and Church activities. She’d like to go dancing. And scream loud with happy people. Of course, it would be nice if there were such a place for a Christian to be. Are Christians really interested in music or in going dancing (of course to music in places prepared for the purpose by other Christians)?
Does life have to be so dreary, mundane, boring? At Church, it seems like everyone she looks at spends most of their time looking too serious and miserable – each with problems they are hesitant to speak about.  
Why are ‘Church People’ so miserable-looking? That thought actually scares her. Isn’t the Church supposed to have peace that no one can understand? (Phil 4:7) 

...to be continued.