Take Off Your Masks

“For it is not you who will be speaking-it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” –Matthew 10:20

 I must tell you that the response to this blog has been overwhelming and humbling. My heart has been filled with joy and thankfulness as I’ve watched the beginning of an unfolding of women (and men alike) come to a place of readiness and willingness to experience surrender before God. As we now come to this place of brokenness in our minds, there must be a connection made from there to our hearts. So, the question is what now?

Come out of sadness

From wherever you've been

Come broken hearted

Let rescue begin...

                                       ...Come find your mercy

                                        Oh sinner, come kneel

                                        Earth has no sorrow

                                        That Heaven can't heal.
                                          
                                                      -David Crowder


The first thing we must do, is pray. I know. You came to this link to read, not pray. I get it. But as God has been showing me through our study of Nehemiah, any form of goal-attaining must start with prayer and preparation. In our case, our goal (our heart) is to determine the "things" that are holding us in bondage. The "things" that have broken us. I want to encourage you to stop here for a few minutes to pray when you're finished reading. Ask God to reveal the areas you are struggling in. Is it pride? What about forgiveness, self-worth, anxiety?

As God begins to reveal or further confirms your areas of struggle, there is a second thing I would like us to do. Find a mirror. Literally. It's time to take a long look at ourselves...

...but before you look into your mirror, reflect on this story God reminded me of today:

My sophomore year of high school I sat in our biology lab, anxiously awaiting the teacher and the remainder of the students to come into the classroom. This was no ordinary first day of school. It was my first day at this school, and my nerves were getting the best of me. After a few minutes, my teacher walked in performing a well thought out monologue of his expectations for our class. He gave us the analogy of a mask. He told us that we all come from different walks of life, we all have different things going on, and we all wear different masks. His rule, as he explained, was that upon entering his classroom our masks were to come off. We were to lay them outside his door each morning, and he would do the same.

Lets be honest, we all really do wear masks. We are constantly in motion of taking one off then replacing it with another that fits the scene we're entering. A mask that covers up our broken pieces.

A mask is not hard to take off, is it? Well, if you're ready and willing...I would say no. But what about when you've allowed that mask to become your identity? For some, taking off the mask is like ripping off a bandaid. For others, there will be skin-removal involved. Just as I said before, we must come in our brokenness and face it head on...

So start here. It's time to take off our masks. Go look in your mirror. For at least a single, full minute look in your mirror. Don't use this time to wipe away left over mascara, straighten your hair, or check your teeth. Just look. What is it that you see? Are you wearing a mask? The mask of a soccer mom one step away from a mental breakdown. A single woman pretending to be on top of the world. A divorcee questioning her worth. A grandmother scared for her grandchildren. A business woman questioning her abilities. A married woman scared of losing her family. An addict tired of hiding. A church leader overwhelmed with responsibilities. A Christian girl beating herself up because it's just impossible to meet the mark. A college student stressed to no end. A friend lost in the fear of replacement. A broken girl, scared to admit who she really is because you think you're the only one who struggles. A woman who just doesn't have it all together, and is tired of feeling like a fraud...

Take the mask off. Take it off! Do you see it? You are beautiful! You are stong and loved and worthy. That face. The one with eyes of fear and a mouth that has forgotten how to smile. Yep, God loves that face. You, my dear sister, are forgiven. You are redeemed, worth dying for!

Let me take you back to that sophomore biology classroom. Before we were released, our teacher explained that we could pick those masks back up and put them on. However, he encouraged us to remove them before every class. God used this experience to show me my need to shatter my masks (yes, plural) completely!

So lay down your burdens

Lay down your shame

All who are broken

Lift up YOUR face...

-David Crowder

 When I looked in the mirror for the first time, I mean really looked, I saw a girl so worthless and ugly that I couldn't help but look away (Satan had me locked into this lie for a long time). I looked into shameful eyes, and saw a heart so deeply rooted in bitterness, anger seemed to ooze from my reflection. You may not believe me, but up until five years ago I struggled with anger. I got so angry, so easily that slammed doors, screams, and broken dishes were common for me. The beginning of my heart change came when in an argument with my ex-husband. At one point during our argument, I became so mad that I threw a potato peeling knife at the sink. The knife hit so hard it stuck in the wood at the front of the sink. In that moment I was shocked my anger had overtaken me to that point. My mask had to be removed! I could no longer wear the mask of the perfect mom, the perfect Christian girl, the conceal don't feel girl. I got rid of that mask...exposed my broken pieces...but the days, months, and years following that incident left me praying, begging God to deliver me from my anger. 

There is a scene in the movie Man in the Iron Mask where one of the brothers is about to be placed in his iron-locked mask. He cries out with the saddest of voices, and fights with all his might to avoid having it placed on his face. See, God doesn't do that to us! He doesn't want us to wear them! He wants us to expose our faces. Expose the very depths of our hearts and souls. He wants us to see the beauty He created us to be! Not the monster we are often tricked into seeing.  

I just let go

And I feel exposed

But it's so beautiful

'Cause this is who I am....
             
                          -Plumb


I get a little teary-eyed when I think of droves of you flocking to mirrors in your bathrrom, or your bedroom. In your car or reaching for your make up compact. Some of you are about to see your beauty for the first time. The real you! In all your mess, your beauty (Christ in you) is shining through. Some of you will see it and choose to throw your mask back on, because it feels familiar and safe. It feels good. It hides the real you, so you can avoid the world and its unsettling, controlling, and completely irrelevant opinions. I'm here to tell you that I'm proud of you for trying either way. If you left your mask off, get ready for God to reveal things to you like never before! If you put it back on, try again tomorrow! I'm praying for you; for us. I know it's hard! I have to fight this battle daily. Insert girl raisng hand emoji here! BUT I'm determined to remove my masks, and replace them with the full armor of God every morning!

I was so caught up

In who I'm not

     Can You please forgive me?

    I've nothing left to hide

   No reasons left to lie

  Lord, I'm ready now...

About four years ago now, God delivered me from that awful anger. Completely and totally took it from my body. From my heart, mind, and soul. I now struggle with anxiety and am trusting in His power to heal me if He sees fit or at least surrender it to Him so that it is manageable. We are living in a broken world, so we all have things. We all have stuff. We all have issues. Lets take off our masks so we can see what ours are. Face them. Start the process of conquering them. Break their chains in Jesus' Name! Amen.