The Miraculous Mirror
ORU alumnus, Jim Stovall '82, is president of the Emmy Award-winning Narrative Television Network and bestselling author of over 40 books, including The Ultimate Gift, The Ultimate Life, and The Lamp, all of which have been made into major motion pictures. He is a gifted speaker, columnist, and entrepreneur. Inspired by ORU’s AI-enabled MQ Mirror, Stovall wrote the following article for his syndicated news column. Learn how ORU’s MQ Mirror is empowering education and the mental health industry here.
The Miraculous Mirror
Here in the 21st century, we take it for granted each morning when we look in the bathroom mirror as we shave or apply make-up, consult the full-length mirror when we check our wardrobe before we leave the house, or glance in the rearview mirror as we back out of our garage. That which we take for granted would have been an absolute miracle to most of our ancestors throughout recorded history.
As I walk on stage in arenas around the world to share my story with thousands of people, I generally begin by saying, “Please don’t miss the power of this message due to the weakness of the messenger. I have not arrived at the mountaintop I seek, but instead, I am a fellow traveler like you seeking my destiny and higher calling. I do not stand before you today with the answers you are seeking, but instead, I am here with questions. These questions will be as if I were holding up a mirror in front of you. If you will be honest with your assessment, you will discover that you already have been given the answers to the questions that are confronting you.”
We spend far too much time in our lives worrying about what everyone thinks of us when, in reality, it is far more important what we think of ourselves. While a mirror can only give us a basic reflection of ourselves as we are viewed by the world, it can be the beginning of a deeper assessment of who we are and who we can become. As a blind person myself, I’ve always been troubled to hear people say, “I’ll believe it when I can see it.” Then one day, I realized the fallacy of that statement, and I discovered the divine paradox that, “We have to believe it first, then we will see it later.” Therefore, seeing is not believing, but believing is the first step in seeing on a far deeper level.
I learned this by living the first half of my life with sight and the second half of my life with vision. Sight is a powerful gift. It tells you where you are and what’s around you. But vision is an infinitely more valuable gift as it tells you where you could be and what’s possible. Without sight, we can adapt and function quite well in the real world, but without vision, we perish.
A mirror can be a mere convenience or a powerful tool that allows us to begin to assess who we are and all that we were created to be.
As you go through your day today, use the mirror’s reflection of your outward image to begin exploring the depths of your heart, mind, and soul.
Today’s the day!