UN-MASKED

When looking up word Mask I found a few interesting definitions. Here are just a few:
MASK
A covering worn on the face to conceal one's identity.

A covering, as of cloth, that has openings for the eyes, entirely or partly conceals the face.

A grotesque or comical representation of a face, worn especially to frighten or amuse.
A protective covering for the face or head.

It's pretty funny how when I look at these definitions I see myself in all of them. I guess that means I'm walking around with my own mask...or dare I say maskS.

Let's take a look at each definition one by one. Mask- a covering on the face to conceal one's identity. Press the pause button real quick...to conceal one's identity? If I sit down and ask myself,  Diana who are you...I don't think I would be able to answer that accurately most of us will answer with adjectives or nouns like..."oh I'm a mom, a teacher, a nurse, I'm a risk taker, a go getter"...ect. Also, one of  my ultimate favorites ..."I am a child of God". Now don't get me wrong all these are great characteristics and traits...and yes we do identify ourselves in Christ...but does that make me, me? I mean really who am I? If I don't really know who I am I can wear any mask I want and conceal the real me. I can wear my "child of God mask" for everyone to see but behind that mask is a confused broken woman, wondering am I really his child, if so why don't I feel part of his family. Maybe I invest all my time in teaching and I wear my teaching mask all the time because I don't feel like I can identify with anything or anyone else? What's your mask? When it comes to my identity I have a few good ones, because no one wants to know the real person behind it right? What would people think if they say Diana who are you? And I say well, I'm a selfish liar, manipulator, fearful insecure woman with rejection issues, I hurt people to protect myself. I'm a grudge holder, people pleaser, stab you in the back and still smile in your face type of girl."  While all those thing could be true YOU must never know that so I'll just go back to my "child of God" mask and call it a day right? Something to think about.

Lets look at definition #2... Mask- A covering, as of cloth, that has openings for the eyes, entirely or partly conceals the face. This definition is clever. "opening for eyes" hence I can see you but you cannot see all of me. My biggest advantage of wearing a mask is, that I can see right through YOURS.  Even if you don't have a mask I can see all your flaws...but guess what? I wont let you see mine and even when you do my mask will let me feel as if you are wrong and I'm right. A mask will allow you to see without being seen. It would allow you to see others faults, but when you look in the mirror yours are covered...Hence, taking the spec of dust out of someones eye becomes easier than taking the big old plank out of yours.

Definitions #3 is my favorite...Mask - A grotesque or comical representation of a face, worn especially to frighten or amuse. I love it when people tell me, you know Diana, when I first met you I thought you were so mean but once I got to know you I realized you so sweet :) ...I don't quite know how to take that sometimes. But it happens so frequently I guess i just got used to it. Could it be that past hurts and pains have created such a fear that upon meeting people my "grotesque" mask comes on to keep potential hurts away. Could my fear of more rejection cause me to unconsciously scare even good people away? What about the "amuse" part? This I know I'm good at. I can make a joke out of anything. Why? Because if your laughing at me your not hurting me, If you laugh it may seem like I'm full of laughs, and can't possibly be miserable inside right?

Lastly, Definition #4  Mask- A protective covering for the face or head. How profound...a "protective covering." Let's face it, our masks ultimate purpose is usually to keep ourselves safe. If I don't let you in, you won't hurt me, and If I happen to let you in, don't think for one moment I'm gonna show you the real me. With a mask your protected. How about this one, well if I tell her how I really feel, she may leave me, or If  I share my struggles and issues they will judge me.If I let her know I miss her then I'll seem weaker than her. So what do we do? We wear our "happy masks", our "I don't need you masks", our "praise the Lord God Bless you sister masks"...there are so many. But the funny thing is, in wearing all these masks we are dying inside. What was meant to protect us is now causing us to become bitter, anxious, discontent individuals, who cries on the inside are overshadowed by our masks on the outside. Eventually, each Mask begins to play a major role in our life... so much so, that dependencies on these masks may cause us to not comprehend the role Christ should have  in our  life. Sadly, what ultimately happens is, the one who is suppose to play the main lead... doesn't even  make it as an extra. 

Image Quality

In Photography now a days a picture is taken normally with a digital or DSLR camera. The image is automatically portrayed on the view screen.  It's wonderful and quick. Not only that, but the image is then downloaded onto a computer screen and edited and retouched for further enhancement.  Wonderful work is then produced with proper editing and processing. Awesome right? But here is the downfall of all this. Do you know what I realized? The more you edit a photo the more compressed it can become, and as it becomes more and more compressed the actual quality of that once raw image decreases. 

Let's now look at old school photography.  Here, the picture is taken and placed on film.  You cannot see the image you took. However you are trusting that it's there. Once the photos are taken, the film is then taken out to be developed. . . and where do they develop these photos? ...that's right, in a dark room.  The result... a simple image is produced, and it may not be as fancy and bright as an edited photo, but here is the key. The quality of the image is far greater.

Ok, so what does this have to do anything right? Well as I am exploring the journey of unmasking, I think it's critical to understand little messages and analogies that pop into my head every now and then...and share them with you!...Your Welcome.

When we are born again, there are things planted in us that need developing.  Such as faith. When we receive Christ the seed is planted, but it is up to us as to how much we let it grow. Now we can be like our nice fancy DSLR cameras that display it all on the screen where we can see, and if we don't like what we see no worries...we can edit and manipulate the image to our liking.  Yet, all the while we will make an end result that has less quality than when it started. This is kind of like our faith with God right? Let's face it, we gotta see everything like an image on a screen to believe it. In life we manipulate and try to fix situations on our own skill and strength, and end up with a quality of life that may meet our own expectations but are far below the standards and quality of life that God had planned for us. 

But let's look at the old school film cameras. Where is the image developed? .... in the dark. Once you take the photo you cant even see the end result until it is processed and developed in those dark places. How inconvenient is that! Kind of like our faith in God. You see, if we saw everything that was ahead of us; there will be no need for faith.  Not only that, but we may not be ready for what is ahead. That is why those dark places where we cant see a thing and those times where life seems so unstable, and waiting for an answer or result seems so long and unbearable....those are the times,  when our faith is developed most. It leaves out room for our own decisions, and manipulations, and totally relies on God for an end result.  And the beauty of this process is that although our faith was developed through dark places in our  life, the quality of our future far outweighs anything we could have ever pictured for ourselves.