I Told My Mirror To Chill And God Agreed

Ever looked in the mirror and seen only the labels life stuck on you—failure, broken, not enough? We go right to the heart of damaged self-image and walk through how God rewrites the story with truth that restores, heals, and sends you forward with courage. Anchored in Gideon’s journey from “least” to “mighty,” we unpack how identity shifts when you stop living for applause and start living in alignment with God’s purpose.

Mariana opens up about a season of probation, the guilt that lingered long after, and the surprising grace that rebuilt everything from the inside out—education, career, marriage, and a calling as an author, speaker, and coach. We name approval addiction for what it is, a subtle trap that turns no into proof you’re not enough, and we offer a way out: a four-step framework to identify lies, replace them with scripture, speak truth daily, and walk it out before you feel ready. You’ll also learn simple embodiment practices that help your feelings catch up to your faith, so confidence becomes a habit, not a performance.

If you’re carrying labels that don’t belong to you, this conversation will help you trade them for the words God speaks over your life—chosen, healed, and called. You’ll leave with a weekly assignment to rewrite your labels and a mirror practice to lock in new beliefs. Share this with a friend who needs fresh hope, then subscribe, leave a review, and join our community and weekly Bible study for the support that makes change stick.

Chapters

• 0:00 Damaged Self-Image Framed By Faith
• 0:20 Community, Bible Study, And Coaching Offers
• 1:36 Gideon’s Story And Identity Labels
• 3:25 Personal Testimony: From Probation To Purpose
• 7:30 Approval Addiction And Distorted Worth
• 10:00 Called Mighty: Mercy Over Mistakes
• 12:40 Four Steps To Renew Your Image
• 15:20 Embodying The Future You
• 17:30 Ongoing Healing, Past Abuse, And Growth

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Amiga, have you ever looked in the mirror and seen everything you're not before seeing who you truly are? Maybe life has handed you disappointments, heartbreaks, or rejection, and now your reflection is covered in labels you've never asked for. Today we're talking about what happens when life damages your self-image and how to replace it with God's truth. But before we dive in, I want to personally invite you to join our new Facebook community, Mommy on a Mission Podcast Community. This is your safe space to grow in faith, find encouragement, and connect with other women who get it. Women who love Jesus, love their cafecito, and are walking through real life challenges with faith and grace. Because when life be life in, we call on Jesus. And I'd also like to invite you to join our weekly Bible study. Amiga, ready to read your Bible every Wednesday at 7.30 p.m. Central Standard Time via Zoom. You'll find all the links in the show notes. So come hang out with us. And Amiga, exciting news! Our Black Friday deal is happening all month long. Save 35% on Empower Her Coaching when you enroll before November 28th at 11.59 p.m. using promo code TRANSF26. Our new Empower Her 12-week coaching program kicks off January 4th, 2026. And it's all about the Empower Her makeover because makeovers aren't just about your outer appearance. They're about transforming your heart, renewing your mindset, and deepening your faith. Hey amiga, welcome to the Mommy on a Mission Podcast. I'm your host, Mariana, best-selling author, coach, and your cafecito loving amiga walking this faithful journey with you. If you've ever felt all over the place, unsure which way it's up or down, girl, you are not alone. This is your safe space to breathe, laugh, kill, and grow. Here we talk about the messy parts of life, the beautiful moments of purpose, and how when life delighten, we call on Jesus. So grab your Papecito and let's do this journey together. Because you're not just on a mission. You are a mommy on a mission. Well, hello, good morning, and welcome back to another episode of Mommy on a mission. Alright, I want to start us off with a Bible verse. It's in Judges 6.15. But Lord, Gideon replied, How can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family. When the angel of the Lord found Gideon, he was hiding, afraid, defeated, and doubting himself. Yet the angel called him mighty hero. Sound familiar? How many times has God spoken something bold over your life? Leader, healer, author, change maker, and you responded with, but Lord, are you sure? Who, me? That's what we do when we let a damaged image define us. We start seeing ourselves through what we've been through instead of what God says about us. Amiga, maybe your damaged image looks different than mine, but I know how deep those cracks can run. For me, one of the hardest seasons to overcome was when I made choices that came from fear and desperation. I remember stealing from my mother and sisters, and when they pressed charges, the court sentenced me to 10 years of probation. That moment could have changed the entire trajectory of my life. If I had listened to the enemy's whispers, the one that said, You're already messed up, so what does it matter? I would have stayed stuck in shame. I would have accepted that what does it matter attitude, settled for less, and convinced myself that a fast food job was all I was ever worth. But God had another plan. Even while I was serving that sentence, he was already working behind the scenes, preparing me for something far greater. And seven years later, and I just love that, right? Because we we have to understand that the number seven is very significant in the word. It means completion. And so seven years later, I was released early, not because I had it all together, but because God's grace had been guiding me all along. And in that time, he began to rebuild my image from the inside out. He showed me that my life wasn't over. It was being rewritten. I went back to school and earned my college degree. I landed a position that started my professional career, one that provided stability and opened new doors. I met and married a man who loves and supports me in ways I never thought possible. God blessed me with a growing family and eventually he led me into another calling, becoming a best-selling author, a speaker, a podcaster, and a life coach. None of that would have happened if I had let shame define me. Every step forward came from trusting God more than my past, believing that his plan was greater than my mistakes. So when I tell you that God can take what was broken and make it beautiful again, I mean I mean it. Why? Because I'm living proof. But maybe your story looks different, but that feeling is still the same. Maybe you've gone through a divorce and still carry the label of failure. Maybe you've battled addiction and the enemy whispers you'll never be free. Maybe you're a mom who feels like she's always falling short. Or just maybe you're that woman scrolling social media, comparing yourself, wondering if you'll ever measure up. That, amiga, is what a damaged image looks like. When the reflection you see in the mirror doesn't match the woman God created you to be. Gideon felt the same way. His self-image said, least one, weakest one, can't do anything great. But when God looked at him, he saw a mighty hero. And the truth is, you can't walk in the image God designed for you while holding on to the one that shame created. One of them gots to go. And just like I had to surrender my guilt, my fear, and my false reflection, you'll have to surrender yours too. Because only God can restore the masterpiece that's been hiding under the mess. When we talk about having a damaged image, we're really talking about how our self-worth gets wrapped up in the wrong things. If you listen to last week's episode, we talked about approval addiction, that deep need for validation and acceptance that keeps us chasing people's approval instead of God's purpose. Well, today we're expanding on that by looking at how approval addiction often shapes a damaged self-image. When your worth depends on others' opinions, rejection feels personal. Every no feels like proof you're not enough. That's how the enemy works. He distorts your reflection until you start believing lies about who you are. Here's what that can look like. You say yes when you really want to say no, you change your opinion just to fit in. You apologize for things that aren't your fault. You hide parts of yourself because you fear judgment. Sound familiar? That's how we lose our authenticity. And before we know it, we're living for people's applause instead of God's purpose. But here's the truth: you can't walk in God's calling if you're still chasing everyone else's clapping. Right? Jesus said in John 5 41, your approval means nothing to me. He didn't live for applause, he lived for alignment with his father. And that's the same freedom he wants for you. God doesn't see you through your mistakes, he sees you through his mercy. Just like Gideon, God calls you something you might not feel yet. He calls you mighty, even when you still feel weak. He calls you healed, even when the wounds still hurt. He calls you chosen, even when you've been rejected. I didn't always feel that truth, Amiga. Even after I got off probation early, I still carried guilt for years. Even though I knew that I had completed everything, even though I knew that I was doing things right, yet I was still carrying that guilt. But as I grew closer to God, I realized He didn't free me from just a sentence. He freed me from shame. And that freedom became the foundation of my calling. Transformation isn't about pretending to be confident, it's about agreeing with what God says about you until your feelings catch up. And you have to let go of the image you built in survival mode and embrace the one God created for you in purpose mode. So here's how we start renewing that image, Amina. Number one, identify the lies. What labels have you accepted that don't belong to you? Number two, replace them with truth. For every lie, there's a scripture that cancels it. Number three, speak it daily. Your mind will believe what your mouth repeats. And number four, walk it out. Start showing up as the woman God says you are, even before you feel ready. That reminds me of this book I was reading. And it was saying that if you want to feel what it's like to have a beautiful home, if you want to know what it's like to have a nice car, if you want to know what it's like, any of those things, one of the things that you can do is that we have to imagine ourselves in that position so that we can know what it feels like. And what you can do is, and and I'm gonna challenge you to do this. If you ever want to know what it feels like to live in a really nice home, say one that you've been looking at, right? And if you can, and if you can rent it out an Airbnb for a weekend, and see how that feels, maybe it's a car that you've been wanting, right? Then go to a car dealership and ask to test drive that car just so that you can feel what it's like to sit in it and drive it. Because once you start feeling it and once you start living in it, then you're gonna be like, wow, this is really this really feels good. Yeah, I can do this, right? Because it it ca it's changing your mindset, it's shifting your mindset. But I want you to remember that healing takes time. Just like it took me years to rebuild, rebuild trust and confidence after probation, it might take you time to see yourself as healed. Because let me tell you, all of those years on probation, paying restitution, you know, having to go see a probation officer, still working, you know, and and I know that I used to always say, no, I don't want a house, I don't want to buy another house because I I had not that I had a bad experience, but I had already lost a home because of my past, because of the past marriage I was in. And so if you're new to this podcast, perhaps you don't know my full story, but the story is that I was married to an abuser, a person who abused me, and also a person who was addicted to drugs. And so that's where all of this happens. If you want to learn more about my story, I share it in other episodes, but I also have my book called Mommy on a Mission: A Guide Towards Healing, Self-Discovery, and Walking in Confidence. And in there, I talk about the struggles, you know, it talks about me working at Jack and the Mox. It talks about me, you know, the things that I, you know, couch surfing and all of those things. And I just thought, you know what, for a moment there, I was I was always telling myself, nope, I'm never gonna get anything better than this. I'm always gonna be maybe cleaning someone's house, you know, who's gonna want to hire me? Now I've got something on my on my record, and all of the things that we want to convince ourselves about because we're going through it. And it took me reading God's word and surrounding myself with other people. I had to stop telling myself that I wasn't going to be good enough or that I was already damaged. I had to replace them with truth and tell myself, God loves me and God thinks I am worthy. Okay. And I had to tell myself that over and over and over again. And I had to start showing up, right? I had to know that God had allowed me to finish college and that he was already going to do something. So you see, I mean, I'm not just telling you to tell you, I'm telling you because these are the very things that I had to do myself. These are the things that I had to work on for years. And it's once you start taking those steps, you are going to see how things are going to start changing. So here's what I want you to do. This week, I want you to take a few minutes to write down the false labels you've believed about yourself. The next to each one, write the truth of who God says you are. So if you say I am unworthy, replace that with I am chosen and loved. If you say I am broken, replace that with I am being restored by grace. And if you say I am a failure, then I want you to replace that with I am forgiven and renewed. Let this be your mirror moment, amiga. Get a mirror, stand in front of it, and say those things to yourself because the reflection you've been seeing isn't final, it's just in progress. So, amiga, I hope this message helps you to step closer into your God-given identity, amplifying your confidence not only in yourself, but in who you are in Christ. And remember, God doesn't just heal what's damaged, he restores it and uses it for his glory. I am living testimony of that. So if this episode spoke to you, share it with another amiga who needs a reminder that she is more than her mistakes. Subscribe to the Mommy on a Mission podcast and please leave me a review. It helps more women find this community of faith and growth. And before you go, don't forget about our Black Friday deal all month long. Save 35% on Empower Her Transformation Coaching when you enroll before November 28th at 11:59 p.m. using code TRANSCOM26. Our new Empower Her 12-week transformation program begins. I said January 4th, but it's actually January 11th, 2026, and it's all about the Empower Her makeover. Transforming your heart, your mindset, and your walk in Christ for the new year. So until next time, Amiga, remember you are loved, you are chosen, and you are on a mission. Amiga, thank you for tuning in to the Mommy on a Mission Podcast. Remember, when life be life, we don't give up, we call on Jesus. If today's episode spoke to your heart, share it with another amiga who needs that reminder. And don't forget to join our Facebook community, Mommy on a Mission Podcast community, where we laugh, grow, and dive into God's Word together every Wednesday at 7 o'clock at 7 30 p.m. Central Standard Time in our Bible study Amiga. Ready to read your Bible? Until next time, keep walking in purpose and confidence. You're not just a moped, you're a mommy on a mission.