The Masks

This weekend I (Toad) did something that I have not done before. I took a roadtrip by myself further than 3.5 hours away. I don't mind being by myself. And I don't mind spending hours in the car alone. But there was one moment in the trip where I crumbled and thought "I really hate this." I had stopped for gas and it was well after dark. The gas station was busy and well lit but I am a single pretty girl alone and that was enough. Before opening my car door to get out and without even thinking I pulled out my "don't mess with me or I'll kick your butt" mask and slipped it on. I got out of the car, filled up my tank, went inside and paid for my caffeinated beverage and walked back over to my car. As I slipped into the car I ripped off my mask with relief and that is when I thought "I really hate this." What do I hate? The mask and the fact that I feel like I need it at all.

Maybe you feel like you can't relate. But I think that if you consider carefully you will realize that even if you don't wear this mask that there are others you frequently don. 
Perhaps its the mask of the "fake fine,"  the one you wear to try and convince everyone, including yourself, that everything is okay when it is not. Maybe it is the mask of independence & strength---used to convince those around you that you don't need them when inside you are crying for help. Maybe the mask is not just figurative---may be it is those layers of make-up (and I wear it, too) that you carefully apply daily to mask the blemishes, hide the fatigue, and somehow live up to someone else's expectations. 

The reality that is that the Lord is pleading with us to remove the masks and throw them away. You see, when I breathed out "I hate this" as I got in my car and slammed the door I realized that the very thing that I hated (the mask) I was self-inflicting. I was frustrated by the fact that I felt like I needed the mask---I was alone (not an uncommon experience for an unmarried woman) and I was afraid. But then I realized that I was wearing the mask because I was believing a lie.---Because, the truth is, I am never alone (and I could never kick anyone's butt--my five foot four frame is just not build for that :).  I am indwelt by the same God who "made the stars also." Jesus Christ, who is Lord of my life, came to the earth as Immanuel, "God with us" to suffer the awful separation from the Father for my sin so that I would never be alone. 

No matter what mask you are wearing or what lie you are choosing to believe the Lord Jesus is asking you exchange the lie for His truth and to trust Him with your life and situation. 

We are called to follow the truth: The One is the TRUTH says, "If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free." John 8:31b& 32

* If you want to read more about the "masks" that we wear and the truth of our position in Christ I recommend you read Grace for the Good Girl, by Emily Freeman