Seeing Yourself in a Mirror

I had a weekly prayer time with a friend from Switzerland last night. We always have a great time together encouraging and sharing with one another. One of the things I have mentioned before that I like about meeting with her is the way she phrases ideas in English. It makes you think about them because their not cliche things. Last night I was talking to her about how frustrated I was that I wanted to love the people in my group and yet my speech and actions towards them were so impatient. I also mentioned how thankful I was that one of the students had asked me if I was grumpy that morning because it made me stop and reflect on my heart. In the midst of our discussion she mentioned to me that sleepiness acts like a mirror. She said that when we are rested we might be able to control what comes out of our mouth or how others percieve us even if our hearts are wrong. "However," she pointed out, "When we are tired we more easily say what we feel and truly think. We have not changed. That sinful attitude was already there but our sleepiness acts as a mirror to see our sinful hearts as they really are." I had been thinking about this with both sleep and food. When I lack either I am very grumpy. Today I also listened to a chapel sermon by Dr. Baker which had an applicable quote. He asked, "What do you get when you squeeze a ketchup bottle?" The answer of course is ketchup. Then he asked, "What do you get when you squeeze a sinner?" The answer of course is sin. My circumstances aren't the problem my sinfulness is.