For the last couple of weeks, I have been waking up to a new morning routine. My three-year-old son, who has become the default household alarm clock, stands next to my bed, grabs my nose (or some other part of my face) and shakes me awake as he says “Here you go,” handing me my glasses. He sees this as doing me a terrific favor, and definitely delights in his role. “Thanks, Max” I say as I open my bleary eyes to see his smiling face.
The funny thing about self-awareness is that you can't really become more aware by trying harder. I mean, you have to try, but it is still like trying to see your blind-spot, which by definition is something you can't see. How do you learn to see something that you cannot see? You need help. You need someone else to find your glasses.
Transformational growth can only occur as we begin to see ourselves--and our condition--honestly. But this sort of self-awareness almost never occurs without help from an outside source, and the normal way in which the Spirit works, according to both Scripture and my observation, is through others. “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another”, “spur one another on toward love and good deeds,” “build one another up”, we are told.
But the first step is to open ourselves up to others. To give others permission--in the context of a trusting relationship--to speak into our lives.
This is hard for most of us, because we have learned much from our environment already about the careful management of our image and perception -- what comes out and what stays hidden.
But if we do choose growth, we are going to have to start by saying, both as a principle and in practice, “I need your help. Help me find my glasses. Help me to see me.”
As we begin a new season of transformation together, may we be courageous in our honesty, as we help one another cross-ward.
