Reflections in the Mirror

As you look in the mirror
What do you see
Will you have confidence
Or will you try to flee?

I see a figure
Battered and scarred
Lost certainly not
Hope unscathed

Mistake-ladened
A broken landscape
But fresh growth
Forms a new shape

Stubborn cracks
Stout recess
Wavering decisions
A work in progress

In the mirror
That I see
It is a true reflection
Of the inner me

I see myself
Face to face
Nowhere to go
No place to escape

What would you do
If you saw truly
Clearly unmasked
In the mirror fully?

I would assume
Some would cry
Shudder in shock
Then maliciously deny

That plain mirror
Of truthful reflection
Of their inner selves
The reality connection

Some might cover up
Their faces full
With makeup's lie of
That inner beautiful

I stand before this mirror
Not running away
Nor covering up
The truth I seek today

I am stunned
By my weaknesses
These sorrowful woes
That foggy stress

I am astonished
Equally heralding
With blissful delight
Successes worth witnessing

As I look at myself
I am humbled
By what i see
Quite comforted

Though it could be better
Soaring gracefully higher
It could have been worse
Falling desperately lower

The mirror does not fail
The truth it captures
I am human of full stature
Including callous fractures

With this knowledge
Thy self informed
Makes better decisions
Improvement performed

Without this knowledge
Yourself not understanding
Lost in the woods
One is southward heading

As you look in the mirror
What do you see
Will you have confidence
Or will you try to flee?

Whatever it is
I hope you see
The inner you
Is like the inner me

Battered
Yet not broken
Saddened
But on the path golden.

Thanksgiving

I am thankful
From the particularly minute
To the mega-monstrosities
I cannot refute

The joyous highs
That soar on eagle's wings
To the sorrowful lows
With bow and arrow slings

I am thankful
Of it all, nevertheless
Through and through
Even the uninvited fuss

I am thankful for life
The mysteries bountiful
Successes unfathomable
And disasters unmerciful

Without the sorrows
And painful shearing
The joys become meaningless
Life would be utmost boring

The pitfalls and losses
Strengthen the mind
So that ultimate success
Makes life sublime

It resonates strongly
With a life well-lived
Excitement and depression
Marks a real life lived

Therefore I'm thankful
For life all-encompassing
For all the good and bad
I give much thanksgiving.

Mercy

God gives mercy to those who seek it, even to those who don't deserve for the crimes they have committed. He is almighty and powerful, yet merciful. All that is necessary for us to receive His forgiving grace is for us to be truly repentant. Though we falter and fail at times, we can pick ourselves up through God's mercy. Along the same lines, we as people using God as a model, should be merciful to others, forgiving them of the wrongs that have been done against us, whether inadvertantly or with malicious intent. We should see every person as God, because we are told to treat others as if we were in the face of the Almighty, for he shall repay us with His mercy. To be merciful to a person that has wronged us is one of the most difficult tasks one can accomplish, but if Jesus died for all our wrongs, we can at least follow in His steps a small bit by being forgiving of others. I seek to be merciful. I seek to be forgiving. I know the road is tough and harsh, but it is the road I must take to attain mercy. I forgive thee that has causes painful strife in me. I seek to mend the wounds and gashes that I have afflicted upon you. Mercy is what I seek and mercy I shall give.

These words I put down are of the result of my deep meditation, of my inner thought process, of what I believe mercy should be. Though not as polished as I might want this work to be, because of the inherent errors in the writing, it shows a profoundly human aspect, one that is imperfect. It is through the imperfection that I may effect a message that can be taken seriously and with deep consideration as if I were talking to you as a friend rather then from the perspective as a preacher condescendingly relaying this message to his congregation in some instances. You would absorb and take the message more clearly from a friend you respect then a teacher you do not care about. I hope you take the message of mercy and can apply it to your life. Though I cannot say that I can do this without faltering steps, I try to get up and carry this cross again rather then quit. The message is, to be merciful always and just maybe someone will be forgiving of you as well; without a doubt God will be merciful for doing so.