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[Note from the proprietor: This post was written by Mike Botz as his entry for this month's What I Learned From... group writing project. Since Mike doesn't have a blog, he asked me to post it for him.]

Often we look into a mirror and what is reflected back is misinterpreted. We run with whatever the latest media induced craze seems to be popular at that particular moment. What follows is almost always some form of deceptive behavior designed to rebuild what was lost.

Back in ‘82 I was attending a small Bible school up in Minnesota, and while there I met one amazing person. The problem is I don’t even know her name.

It all started one day while on a weekend silent prayer retreat. Those words, silent prayer retreat, conjure up all kinds of images, but believe me it gets better.

The retreat was held at a quaint old monastery on a picturesque lake, and under any other circumstance could have been a cool place to spend a weekend. Let me also add that I am not Catholic (not that there is anything wrong with being Catholic), but this place was definitely Catholic.

I arrived by bus, so retreat from this retreat was not an option. The odd looking inhabitants showed each of us to our rooms, along with simple printed instructions for the weekend. My room was simple to say the least, and to my horror it didn’t have a television.

There I was with about 25 years of television/radio addiction under my belt and an intervention on my horizon, so I sat in my simple ½ motel size room pondering my next moves.

The instructions they gave me had a few Bible passages to read and mentioned words like meditate, and reflection. To make a long story short I decided to just lie on my bed and sleep till it was over.

When I woke up I glanced at the instructions and headed for breakfast. Somehow, due to missed communication, I missed breakfast and spent my morning upset with the world. You see I am a rather large man, who until this point in time never missed a meal.

I spent that morning wandering the grounds with only the voices in my head and totally oblivious to the beauty around me. At one point I sat on a bench, staring off into space, wanting the whole thing to just end.

I was wallowing in pure selfishness.

Later that day I met a blind nun, the person who showed me my reflection in the mirror, and it has helped me to this day. Often in life we have those special people who leave their marks on us, but this was different. This person was so completely unselfish, that she had taken on the image and personality of her creator.

She showed me it was ok to just be.

I know this sounds a little Kung fu, but this was such a revolutionary concept to me that it has changed my life. I just know there are people like me who feel like they have to always be doing something.

She spoke of life as a “journey through”, and not an end to anything. The whole “not our home – looking forward to Heaven” kind of thing.

“Enjoy the trip – look at what and who is around you,” she’d say. Even blind she could enjoy what was.

To this day I can sit almost any place and be – reflecting on His creation.

Oh, I can still get swept away with things that need doing, but it’s not hard to find my way home.

Look in to the mirror and what do you see?

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