The Magic Mirror

“Richard!” Wanda ran to the front door. “Richard!”

Richard jumped the basement stairs two at a time. “What are you yelling about? Are you okay?”

“It’s here. They’re delivering the mirror I found at a little antique shop.” Wanda opened the door. “Bring it in here, please!”

“You didn’t tell me about a mirror.” Richard looked out the window to see the moving men unloading a large full-length mirror.

“Put it here in the living room against this wall.” Wanda pointed to the wall.

“In the living room?” Richard got out the way as the movers swung the mirror into place.

“It’s beautiful and the lady who owns the antique shop said it was magic.”

“She said it was a magic mirror?”

“Yes and it’s gorgeous.”

“They saw you coming—a magic mirror indeed.”

Wanda ripped the paper and foam padding off the mirror. “Isn’t the gold hand carved frame simply one of a kind?”

“It really is unique, I’ll say that.” Richard touched the carving. “How much did this set us back?”

“Don’t think about the money. What’s the use of having money if we can’t buy a magic mirror?”

“What’s magic about it?” Richard looked closely at the whole frame.

“I don’t know. She was probably just kidding.”

“This is interesting.” Richard traced some letters with his fingers. “It looks like some words in a foreign language hidden in the carving.”

“You’re right.” Wanda looked where Richard pointed. “You can hardly tell they are letters.”

“I hope it isn’t some ancient curse or something.”

“Why don’t you write down the letters and research what it means?”

“Okay.” Richard handed Wanda the notepad with his scribbles. “I wrote down all the letters I could find.”

Wanda looked at the words και καλουντος τα μη οντα ως οντα. “What language is it?”

 …………..

“Well, it’s not Spanish and it doesn’t look like Latin. Maybe the words are Greek.”

“It’s Greek to me.” Wanda laughed as she handed him the notepad.

“I’ll run it through some online language translators.” Richard walked to basement door and disappeared down the steps.

Wanda stood in front of the mirror. “Ugh. I’m going to have to go on a diet.”

…………… 

Wanda spread butter on her toast. “Did you find out what the words on the mirror frame meant?”

“Well, they are Greek. I translated them but it doesn’t make any sense to me.”

“What’s the translation?”

“Well, best I can tell it means calling the not being as being.”

“What? What does that mean?” Wanda took a sip of her coffee.

“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll ask Brian, our resident Greek expert at work.”

Wanda finished cleaning up the kitchen and walked to the mirror. I’m getting fatter by the day. I look awful.

 ………………

Several days past and Wanda stood in front of the mirror again. Richard walked up behind her. Wanda could see his reflection in the mirror. “My, you look good. Have you been dieting or something? I look like I gained 30 pounds.”

“I do look good don’t I?” Richard said, rubbing his chin. “Oh, by the way, I found out from Brian that the words are ancient Greek and come from the Bible.”

“Really?”

He said it was from Romans 4:17 which says ‘calleth those things which be not as though they were.’”

“So what does that mean?”

“As he explained the words, it means to say what you would like, not what is.”

“Huh?”

“The magic is in the power of seeing yourself as you would like to be, not as you are. So, I see myself as trim and toned and that’s how I’m becoming.”

“So you’re saying that since I have been saying I’m fat that I have gotten fatter because I’m calling myself as I see myself, not as I could be?”

“Yep. According to Brian, there is power in believing. God sees us as we could be. Therefore, I’ll call myself as I want to be.

Wanda looked into the mirror. “Then I should change what I’m saying.”

She continued doing your household chores, pausing many times in front of the mirror. “Yes, I’m saying I’m getting thinner, healthier, and I like myself and want to take care of myself.”