HIDING BEHIND A MASK

As I sat on my porch passing out pencils (yes pencils) and candy, I saw Lego blocks, a dinosaur, a mummy, many princesses and three jellyfish.  Some of those kids were just plain cute.  Some scary.  Some really put a lot of thought into their costume.  Some had parents walking with them.  Sadly, some were sent down the street while the parent sat in the car talking on their phone.

After the pencils and candy were gone, I thought about all the masks and all the hidden faces.  With the mask on, I couldn’t tell the age of the child.  I couldn’t tell if the child was happy or, maybe, scared at the strange creatures walking on the street beside them.  I couldn’t tell if the child was tired or high on the candy they ate walking to the next house. 

So much can be hidden behind a mask.  And we all wear one.

“How are you today?” a friend asks. 

            “Just fine,” we answer.

                        And inside we cry.

“Are you recovering quickly from your surgery?  I have been praying for you,” a church member says.

            “Much better than I thought,” we say.

                        And we want to shout, “No.  I hurt everywhere.  I am tired.  I cannot sleep.”

“Wow that was some party.  I did not see you there,” a very good friend remarks.

            “I already had plans,” we reply.

                        And our brain is exploding, “Party?  What party?  I was not invited.”

“How was your day?” our spouse inquires.

            “Pretty normal,” we respond.

                        And we want to be honest and say, “The kids were awful, I really hurt today and I was not invited to a party.”  But we do not want to burden our loved ones and we do not want to complain.

We all wear masks.  We all hide behind them and think we have a good reason. 

·        No one wants to hear about my troubles.  They have troubles of their own.

·        There is nothing they can do about my aches and pains, so might as well keep them to myself.

·        I will not allow them to see that my feelings were hurt.

·        My spouse has had a rough day too. 

We all wear masks and think no one can see the truth. 

You have searched me, LORD, and you know me,

You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.

You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely.

You hem me in behind and before and you lay your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit?

Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,

even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

Psalm 139:1-10

There is one who can see behind the mask.  God!

God wants to hear about your troubles and about your day. 

He cares and is never too tired to listen.

God can help ease your pain.

You will still hurt but you can take a deep breath and rest in Him.

God understands hurt.

(He does not get invited to a lot of parties and many people do not accept God’s invitations.)

God will gently comfort you.