By Sister Myriam, O.C.D.
There is a scene at the end of the live-action Cinderella movie that resonates so deeply in my heart every time I see it. After all that Cinderella’s step-mother and stepsisters have heaped upon her, the rejection and abandonment she experienced at their hands, and the neglect she endured in the attic, she descends down the attic stairs. With her dirt-smeared face and her torn dress, she gazes into the mirror, pausing for a moment before presenting herself to the prince. In that moment of truth, the voice of her fairy-godmother narrates one simple but very moving phrase: “Perhaps the greatest risk any of us will ever take is to be seen as we really are.”
Of all our family characteristics, to me, this one is both the most challenging and the most rewarding. To possess and express your genuine self means allowing yourself to be known and loved exactly as you are. It means trading in the fake, polished, and shallow versions of “who we think we should be” and “who we wish we were” for the honest truth of how God sees you. He sees all of your strengths and struggles. He knows you better than you know yourself. He doesn’t dismiss the areas that need healing and growth. He sees you with the deepest clarity and He loves you exactly as you are.
When the prince’s eyes finally fell upon Cinderella, his gaze penetrated straight through her poverty to her goodness. He saw her poverty, her courage, her kindness, and her beauty. He loved her exactly as she was. Jesus wants to look on you in the same way. The question is, will you let Him? Will you bring your heart before him exactly as it is with all your joys, sorrows, struggles, wounds, victories, and hopes? Will you speak to Him with honest sincerity? Will you let Him show you how He sees you? Bring your real, authentic heart before Him. He is waiting for you.
