Yule Never Walk AloneSample

All Good in the Oodie?

This winter I treated myself to an “oodie” (ok it was a fake, cheaper Amazon version of an actual bonafide “oodie”). An “oodie” is a huge wearable blanket and it’s a thing of pure wonder and beauty. They come in a variety of colours and wacky patterns, such as covered in avocados and rubber ducks. Mine is a plain but very bright pink (faux) oodie.

I was snuggled up with my daughter in my non-oodie a couple of weeks ago and I was concerned as she looked very pink. She didn’t appear to be ill but when the colour didn’t leave her face in a few hours I administered some acetaminophen.

The next evening she was the same funny colour again. As I was tempted to reach for the acetaminophen bottle again it suddenly dawned on me that her pink face was a result of the bright pink glow my neon pink oodie was emitting!! Epic parent fail – administering an unnecessary dose of Calpol when the real issue was a brightly coloured wearable blanket!!

To reflect means to show, to express or to be a sign of something. What are we being a sign of?

I was not aware of what I was reflecting to my daughter in my ridiculous neon oodie blanket. We can all similarly be unaware of what our lives are reflecting. We can slip into habits that do not reflect the person we really want to be. I know I’m often guilty of being snappy, sarcastic and having an increasingly short fuse. These are not behaviours I want to reflect, but left unchecked, it’s easy to carry on in these unhealthy patterns and responses to those around us. In my ignorance of my neon reflection, I actually thought it was my daughter who had the problem – I thought her pinkness meant she was ill. In actual fact – the problem was me and what I was reflecting onto her.

Let’s ask God to make his face shine on us, and the Holy Spirit to shed light on our shortcomings, so we can be a stronger reflection of his goodness and light.

Reflection

Celebrate the ways you feel you are reflecting Jesus well to those around you, and take on the chin the areas of challenge that come up. Choose to work on those things so your reflection of Jesus becomes stronger.