Reflection

Upon cooking my first Thanksgiving dinner in my own apartment I remember feeling a sense of excitement and nervousness. Being 19 and on my own with two children was challenging enough, but now I was adding cooking Thanksgiving dinner for a house full of family and friends to my equation. I wasn't too sure that my results would be favorable so I began to think about some of the Thanksgiving turkey horror stories that I had either heard or read about. I wanted to remind myself of what to do and what not to do.

Now, I'm sure that many of you have heard of some of these stories : The story of the person who didn't know the importance of basting so, their turkey turned out being as dry as the Sahara Desert, or the story of the person who left their turkey in the oven too long and ended up with a "cajun-style" bird. Or one of my favorites, the person who didn't know that the butcher leaves a little "surprise" in the abdominal cavity of the turkey. They carve their bird and...SURPRISE! There's a pouch of guts inside.

One story in particular really stayed with me for some reason. It's the story of the person who enticed their family all day with heavenly aromas from the kitchen. They finally emerged from the kitchen with their main attraction gorgeously presented on a white ceramic platter. They set the bird down on the dining room table and a chorus of oh's and aw's begin to fill the room. With carving knife and fork in hand, they begin to slice into this mouth-watering fowl only to find that it's rock solid.
Huh? What happened? you asked. Well, apparently the person was a new cook and was unfamiliar with helpful cooking devices such as an instant read thermometer that would have aided them in cooking a well-done bird. Instead they relied on what they saw, a beautiful brown bird, that led them to believe it was allll good.

Just like that turkey, we can also give the appearance that we're fully cooked. We walk around with rose colored glasses on, gazing in mirrors and believing that we have it going on. But the truth of the matter is that the reflection looking back at us is distorted. Our rose colored glasses keeps us from truly seeing who we really are, therefore change is never made.

Now, let me be the first to say that holding a mirror in front of yourself is not an easy task. When we do this we're subject to see a bunch of flaws. For some of us our reflection may reveal anger and bitterness, while in others it may reveal jealousy or pain. Seeing features like these can be quite alarming and disheartening, which is why some of us choose to keep our glasses on. But, if we're ever going to become the people that God intended for us to be, then we have to remove our glasses and embrace the person looking back at us.

To me, the most important step to becoming a better person is acknowledging that you need to change. And while you're changing be encouraged. As the saying goes Rome wasn't built in a day. It's going to take time and effort, but I'm confident that in the end you'll emerge like a well cooked turkey - juicy and tender with every bite.

Be blessed
TAE