Take off the Mask

Life is just one big object lesson. I have come to the conclusion that if you are really seeking to see God - you will find Him.

All of my life I have really liked clowns. In fact, Emit Kelly, pictured above always was one of my favorites. There was something about the sad face that pulled me to him. Or perhaps it was because I felt a kindred spirit with him because I too hid my real self behind a mask. Not very many people really ever knew the real me. I hid behind a mask. Life was easier behind the mask.

So yesterday I went with Claire to a picnic hosted by the local Teamsters union of which she is a member. All around the grounds were clowns. Happy clowns, sad clowns, scary clowns. They were making balloon animals, squirting kids with water, dancing and generally having a good time. This young man that Claire knows from UPS sat down with us and we got to chatting. He was telling me that he hated clowns. I was incredulous. How could you hate clowns? I mean - aren't they fun? To him, he saw them as "evil" always hiding behind a mask. Talk about an open door for discussion.... So I said to him, "Don't you ever wear a mask?" He quickly replied, "no and I don't have many friends! But, I would rather be real than hide behind a mask." Wow! Okay, God I hear you.

As is typical these days after something like this I stop and think about it. What lesson was there for me in this? Obviously, it is not good to wear a mask and to not be genuine. And it also is not good to be unkind. So somewhere in between there must be a happy medium. What keeps me behind the mask? It's fear. Fear of being alone. Fear of being ridiculed. Fear of not being accepted for who I am. As I thought about it I realized that Satan wants me behind the mask. When I am behind the mask then I am not allowing God to be in control. I am attempting to stay in control of my own life. To take off the mask is to totally trust in who God is and who I am in Him.

Taking off the mask cannot be done gradually. It is either off or on. I choose to take the mask off. I choose to allow God to be in total control and be the Lord of my life. No longer hiding behind the lies and deception of the mask. May God continue to reveal His reality to me in these lessons of life.