What mask are YOU wearing?
I wrote this post last October and was thinking again recently about how we wear masks, so I decided to repost it. I also enjoyed reading your comments again…
Some Christian families choose to participate in Halloween while others do not. This post is not meant to strike any controversy about Halloween, but to help us think about the masks we sometimes wear. 🙂
As Halloween is fast approaching, costumes are everywhere…..from the newspaper fliers to the posters on the ceiling at Target. I love to watch kids dress up. They’re so excited to pretend to be someone else. Some choose dragons. Others princesses. Some want to be dressed as something courageous and others prefer silly disguises.
Do you ever feel like you are wearing a mask? Do you ever find yourself pretending to be someone you’re not? Pretending to “have it all together,” but in reality, your “all togethers” are falling apart? You would never want people to see the “real you”, the person behind the mask. You would be embarrassed if you were ever “found out.”
So….we put on our masks, go about our business, and when friends ask how we are, we smile and declare, “Great! How are you?”
Because so many of us are wearing these perfection masks, we look around and think that we are the only Christian mom or wife or daughter who is “messing up.” We feel like failures. We would never admit to needing help, let alone actually asking for it! Instead of building one another up and encouraging each other in our faith, we pretend that we are just fine and hide behind our masks.
But, God sees through the mask right down to the “real you”. He sees all the flaws and mistakes and failures and yet loves us completely and unconditionally. Isn’t it comforting to know how much He loves us? Psalm 139 tells us that God searches us and knows us. He knows us completely, from the inside out. He knows a word before it even reaches our tongue. He is familiar with our ways. He isn’t surprised by us. He knows every thought, every worry, every joy, every hurt. There is no where we can run from His Spirit, no where to escape His love, no mask to hide our person from Him. With God, we can stop pretending, take off our mask, and allow Him to love us.
And, I believe that we can also take off our masks with our sisters in Christ, allow them to love us, and share authentic relationships with them. We might find that we all make mistakes, not one of us is perfect, and we are not the only one in the carpool with a dirty minivan!
Father God, thank You for loving me unconditionally. Thank You, Lord that I don’t have to hide anything from You, that I CAN’T hide anything from You because You know me completely. Thank You that I can take off my mask. Help me Lord to be honest, authentic and real with those around me. Help me to encourage others so that they, too feel comfortable taking off their masks. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.
Thirsty for Him,
Tracy
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Amen, amen.
Amen to this, Tracy. So many of us go through life wearing a mask, trying to hide the real me because of fear of rejection by man and God. It’s time for all of us to be real with one another.
Thanks for this post.
All I can say to your post: Amen, Sister!!!!!
Yes, we do need to take off our masks, be transparent to the ones around us. I know that I don’t have it all together and I don’t mind saying so either 🙂
Thank you for your encouragement this morning…
I would think it a poor reflection of the Church that we feel we must wear those masks…the one place where we should be able to be transparent and live in a loving environment. There’s just lots to think about here.
My hope and prayer is that more people would take off the mask and come to understand that when they hold on to this mask it pushes people away such as myself that tends to see right through it. I believe that his kingdom would be more united if we could be open & honest with eachother and know that we won’t be judged.
Blessings,
Eevee
Amen and Thank you Tracy. For past 3 days, my burdens of this pretense is unbearable. I have noticed that you always bring out His satisfying love to me whenever I am parched and thirsty, in need of Him. Love you Tracy.
I try to wear masks to church but often mine come tumbling off. Like last Sunday. At first I did not want to go to church. I had a feeling what would happen. After our trauma on Monday morning (read about it here if you want http://debbiesdigest.blogspot.com/2009/10/rude-awakening.html ) I knew I probably would not make it through church without tears. Well I was right many times during the service I had to grab a tissue. During the first prayer, during the praise and worship time I cried so hard I could not sing, during the sermon. I wish sometimes that I could hide these things but they come rushing out, even if I don’t want them to. I am so glad God keeps all my tears in a bottle. Psalm 56:8 “Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?” I am crying now just writing this. I have cried many times over the past week and a half.
I am so glad to know God sees the real me all the time. He knows and cares and keeps my tears… he must have a really BIG bottle for me! He writes them in his book too! Thank you Lord for being my rock, my shelter, in the midst of this new storm.
Thank you Tracy for your wonderful post. You’re right, so many times we wear masks because we worry what others will think if they know the truth. I often wonder what is hiding behind the masks of others that I think look okay on the outside but I wonder what they are hiding.
It is hard to take off the mask sometimes, to be truly open and vulnerable. We are afraid that we won’t be accepted by those around us. But it is amazing that when we open up, God uses our honesty to bless others. There may be someone else who feels the same way or who has been through the same things, and our testimonies can be used then to encourage and strengthen each other. I am thankful God sees my heart =).
Living for Him, Joan
This gets a hardy AMEN even the second time around! Thanks for pulling it back up, Tracy. It’s always appropriate.
Tracy, I have a sunday school lesson planned for this Sunday on this very topic! I think we all wear masks of some sort, no matter how hard we try to hide our true identity to others – we can never hide who we are to God! -blessings.
Beautiful post Tracy. I was quite surprised to see this post because my own post this morning was entitled “Halloween Masks” – must be the season….
Anyway, aren’t we so blessed to have our God who loves us as we are – no mask?
Amen! Too many times we hide behind too many masks. Thank you for sharing.
So very true.
I know I used to wear a mask. However, I’ve found that it is such a relief to be able to throw away that mask and be real. Of course, we need to be a bit cautious with who we share things but I’ve found that my Christian sisters have been such a source of comfort and encourgement to me.
Hugs to you Tracy,
Debbie
Thank you for such a great challenge. I have to admit, I am guilty of mask-wearing, for sure … but I do find it so libertating, so to speak, to take the mask of. After all, isn’t that when we can lean on God’s strength instead and accept His Grace to walk on … and His peace for whatever circumstance we are in? I can’t say I have learned to do this consistently, but I am thankful that He is faithful …
I teach a Bible study for junior high girls as my church. I stumbled upon this as I was searching for a Bible verse to go along with a lesson about wearing masks. I love this so much, the truth in it, I am going to print it out and read it too the girls and give them all a copy. Thank you for sharing this!