There once lived a young girl whose name was Jewell. Jewell was a sweet girl. She tried her best to please those around her, to follow the golden rule, and to always give her best effort. 

Each morning as she would get ready for her day, as any young lady does, she would eat a balanced breakfast, put on her favorite charm bracelet, kiss her parents goodbye, and begin her daily walk to school. Every morning, on her way to class, she would pass a shop window that always displayed a beautiful and bright mirror …the Mirror of the World. Jewell would stop briefly to check her appearance in this beautiful mirror, but no matter how long she looked or how often she looked, nothing was ever right. Her hair was not the right shade, her eyes were too dull, she could never find the right shade of lipstick to compliment her complexion, and she never seemed to have the right trending “extras” of the day. With each glance into the Mirror of the World her thoughts of her appearance and worth became more and more negative. She began to only see how unstylish, unpopular, and “behind the times” the world saw her to be. She had been warned about looking too long into this mirror and the heartache it would cause her if she lingered long enough. However, this did not stop her from taking a glance each day as she passed the shop. Frustrated with what she saw, knowing it would never satisfy, she continued on to school. 

Upon arriving at school that day she was met at the front door by her friend, Constant. Constant and Jewell had been friends since kindergarten and were basically inseparable. 

 “Jewell, can you come to my house after school today?” asked Constant. “I have something I have been dying to show you! You are going to love it; I just know it!”

“Yeah, sure! I’ll be there.” Jewell replied. Constant always had something new to show her, or to tell her, or to get her involved in – it was CONSTANT! 

That day, after school the girls headed over to Constant's house. When they arrived, Constant grabbed Jewell by the hand and ran into her room …

“Quick it’s in here!!! Look at it; isn’t it beautiful?!” Constant pointed to her brand new Mirror of Peers in the corner of her room. It had a glossy black edge and was long enough for the girls to be able to see their whole outfits at the same time if they wanted! Yes, this would be much better for them than trying to get a glimpse of the finished product in the small bathroom mirrors! 

“Well, go ahead; try it out!” Constant urged Jewell.

But as Jewell stepped in front of the mirror and began to look, all she saw were fingerprints, smudges, and even dirt! Goodness, this mirror was so dirty with the fingerprints of her friend and her life that she couldn’t get a real glimpse of herself at all. 

“Constant, I can’t really see anything.” Jewell said.

“Girl, yes you can. You just gotta look harder. Here, let me tell you what I see…”

Constant began once again to freely hand out her own set of opinions and thoughts surrounding Jewell’s appearance and life. Her friend meant well, but often her advice was tempered with more spastic feelings and rollercoaster emotions than anything real and grounded. This left Jewell feeling as though once again she did not measure up, and she remained frustrated at her own lack of reflection. The Mirror of the World had disappointed, and now the Mirror of Peers had only left her with frustration as well. 

Jewell thanked Constant for inviting her over, but after checking the time knew she needed to be heading home. So with their quick, secret handshake they parted ways. 

As Jewell neared her home she looked up to see her mother and father waiting eagerly on the front porch for her to arrive. 

“Jewell, come quickly; we have a surprise for you!”  they both said simultaneously. 

Jewel’s pace quickened as their excitement could be seen from miles away. Her parents guided her into the house and up to her room. In the corner they had placed a beautiful wooden mirror, The Mirror of Authority. The gift was beautiful with its carved edges and clear, clean glass; but as she stepped in front of the mirror she was confused. What were these lines on her new mirror? Why had her parents drawn them?

“Why would you put these lines on the mirror?” she asked.

Her parents began to try and show her how to use the drawing as a guideline to be able to see her reflection in the best way possible. Yet the more she tried, still all she could focus on were the lines themselves, and her reflection eventually faded away altogether. 

“If you just hadn’t drawn those lines there, it would have been fine.” She muttered under her breath.  

Jewell never took into consideration the real motivation behind the lines. To her, they represented only the strict rules and regulations enforced on her. When in reality, her parents had known since she was born the beautiful and wonderful reflection Jewell should have been able to see in the mirror. A reflection of grace and love. A reflection of joy and hope. This reflection would have been easiest to see had she simply followed the lines her parents had carefully and lovingly drawn for her, but instead of using the lines to find her reflection, all she saw were the lines themselves. 

Frustrated once again, Jewell begrudgingly thanked her parents for the mirror and quietly left the room. 

She needed to think. She needed some fresh air, and soon found herself sitting on the backyard swing, silently running the day's events through her head. The Mirror of the World had left her feeling empty and used. The Mirror of her Peers had only added to that angst with all its varying opinions and ideas, leaving her confused on what to even believe.  To look into the Mirror of Authority correctly would take so much extra effort and work that she just did not want to even try, and defeat was quickly settling in. 

Giving up seemed like her only real viable option, when suddenly an idea came to mind. Why not fashion her own mirror? Why yes, of course, that would solve her problems! She could take the pieces that she liked the most from the other mirrors and put them all together. Why had she not thought of this before?! Quickly, she left her quiet thinking spot and almost skipped with excitement on her way to work on this new project. 

The next few hours flew by for Jewell as she worked tirelessly to fit and squeeze the different pieces she had together. Some pieces would only fit in the frame one way, while others had to be pushed in and forced to fit into the spots she wanted them in. Of course, these pieces had never been designed to fit together, quite the opposite in fact; but ignoring the obvious, she continued working.

As she glued the last piece in place, she dusted off her hands and stepped back to see her new creation.  Again, instead of seeing the beautiful reflection she had expected, what she saw was complete and utter chaos and distortion.  Nothing lined up right, and the proportions of everything were off. Why, though? This was supposed to be what worked for her. After all, these were her own ideas, desires, dreams, and opinions. So why was this still not a reflection she was happy to look at? This Mirror of Self Gratification, created by her own hands, had also failed her. 

“Great… Now what?...”

Discouraged and even angry with herself and others after all that had transpired, Jewell ran to her room. 

“Ahhh, yes,” her favorite chair and blanket; that’s what she needed right now, as she sat down with a FLOP, her hands landing carelessly on the short lamp table beside the chair. 

“CLANK…CLANK…CLANK…” went something that she had disturbed with her quick, exasperated movements. Looking over at the small table, she reached  to pick up the small, old-fashioned hand mirror that had been collecting dust now for some time. 

 “Oh wow!” She had forgotten she even had this. Where had she gotten this, and who had given it to her? She sat trying to remember. Was it her third grade Sunday school teacher? Or her parents perhaps, after she accepted Christ when she was ten? No, maybe it was her youth pastor’s wife after that one special revival meeting? Regardless of the time and place she had received it, she looked down at the small mirror admiring the  beautiful craftsmanship of the piece. It really was pretty. Too bad it was so old-fashioned and out of date. There was no way something this ancient could be of any help to her. If the Mirror of the World, Peers, and Authority could not show her what she wanted; and even her own mirror that she had put so much time and effort into had failed her, then this puny piece, as beautiful as it was, could not possibly be of any help. 

“Well, what do I have to lose though?” she thought, gazing down at the exquisite craftsmanship. “Might as well give it a try.” 

Carefully, she turned the small mirror over, keeping her eyes closed until she had it right in front of her face.  Then slowly opened her eyes to gaze into the glass.  As her eyes began to focus on the reflection of the mirror, her eyes grew wide, and soon began to fill with tears. 

Just as at all the other times before, she did not see the reflection she had been hoping for; yet there was something different about this mirror. The reflection she sat gazing into was not a still picture. In fact, when she had first looked into the mirror, the reflection had met her with a warm and kind smile despite the tears in her own eyes. Soon the reflection inside the mirror began to move, as if somehow it was alive! 

She recognized this reflection, for she had seen Him before, talked with Him on occasion, and had even heard Him speak to her heart. He smiled kindly and directly into her eyes as He held up His hands to show her the nail prints and moved aside some of His dark hair to reveal the scars where large thorns had been pressed into His brow. It was obvious that those were not the only scars His body carried, and she wanted to immediately ask so many questions; but no words would come. She did not need to speak, for He already knew what she was thinking and feeling. He knew about the temptation of the world and the emptiness it left. He saw what her peers had said and how her authority had tried hard to get her to understand it all. He saw straight to her heart and knew each detail of the battle she was facing. 

Then He spoke,

Isaiah 43:1 But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he       that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. – Jewell, I am your creator. The one who gave you the very breath you breathe, and you are fearfully and wonderfully made in my image. You were designed from the beginning to be something special in order to bring glory to my Father. Psalm 150:6 Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord… This is your purpose Jewel. You were put here to praise and reflect me. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. Jewell, you have worried and wondered why within each mirror you could not find what you were looking for. You, my daughter, were not created to reflect the world, or that of your peers, or even your loved ones. You cannot fashion your own reflection from experience and time without the image being distorted. That is because you were made to reflect Me. When others look at you, they are to see Me. When they hear you speak, they are to hear My words of mercy, grace and love; and when they see your actions day after day, those also are to reflect the cause of Christ.

 He paused briefly to allow her a moment to acknowledge all that she had just heard. 

Then he asked, “Have you ever wondered why your parents named you Jewell?” She had honestly never considered her name or any reasoning behind it and slowly shook her head no. 

“Proverbs 31:10 says, Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies. You are a priceless jewel, created to reflect the image of God. This is why when you look into the Mirror of My Word you do not see the world, your friends, family or even your own desires; but you see Me. Allow the Mirror of My Word to be your source of guidance, and you will see the reflection that brings you the peace and direction you have been looking for.” 

Unable to contain the joy she found flooding her heart right then, Jewell dropped to her knees as she told her Creator that her life was His...every…single… part; and today and each tomorrow she would seek to reflect Him with everything she was.