I Am More Than Just My Reflection in the Mirror

Discovering who I am — body, soul, and spirit.

Photo by Alexei Maridashvili on Unsplash

Who am I?

This summer, standing before the mirror at our cabin on Lake Eufuala, I asked myself that eternal question: Who am I? The reflection showed only an aged woman’s face, but I knew I was much more than what appeared in front of me.

Even before I had an understanding of who I am, somehow, I knew I was something more. Perhaps it was from the Sunday School lessons taught at my best friend’s Pentecostal church.

Or was it just intuition?

I was aware that my skin was sensitive to the sun, and I couldn’t help but compare my face to my friend’s, which I thought was prettier. My soul was constantly gripped by fear, especially when it came to my mother, whose fist seemed ready to strike over the slightest mistake. Yet, above all, I clung to the belief that I was first, a spirit.

With every fiber of my being, I sensed that I was three in one — body, soul, and spirit — separate parts woven together to form a whole being.

My skin speaks its own language.

Motherhood stretched my belly, forming marks from five pregnancies. Obesity imprinted new tracks on my arms and thighs. These scars tell the…