What do you see when you look in the mirror?

Like most women, when I look in the mirror, the first thing I see is me, a real person, in all my earthly fragility. I see my imperfections: the weight I wish would just melt away, the spots, the ever-so flushed cheeks. Having just been through my third ectopic pregnancy, I also see what I am not - I am not a mother. Women are so often defined in terms of their role in society, yet, in my loss I feel more defined by that which I have yet to achieve. Despite all this, I see a woman who has experienced pain and loss, but who is still full of hope for the future. My faith in God is the heart-beat of my life, and it too has something to say about who I am. I am loved, I am precious, I am cherished. While I don't always feel deserving of such outrageous love, it grounds me, sustains me and completes me in a way that no earthly experience or airbrushed perfection ever could.