We All Wear Masks… Christine McDonald
We all wear masks, a façade we can control and manage that tells the world who we are—or at least who we want them to think we are. Yet deep down, our greatest longing is to be known for who we truly are. We want to be seen and accepted for who we are, unfiltered.
As children, we show our true selves with unadulterated abandon. We are full of life, hope, dreams, and open arms. We imagine ourselves as fighter pilots, princesses, doctors, lawyers, nurses, astronauts, or anything else our imaginations can dream up. As we grow older, experiences teach us to show people only the parts of us they can’t hurt, even if they try. Life and growing cynicism stamp out the sky–high dreams we once held. No child says, “I want to be a prostitute, homeless, raped, or addicted when I grow up.”
The most special moments, though, are when we meet someone who truly sees us in spite of our efforts to put up an impenetrable wall. As scary as those moments are, they are the most freeing, too. To have another person validate our uniqueness among humanity breathes value all over our soul. It is as if, in that moment, our Creator whispers through that person, saying, “I still see you and I know you. No matter where you are, you are mine and you are loved.” When David wrote, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (Psalm 139:14, NIV), he took a moment to see himself as God sees him. He recognized that he was a marvelous creation of a marvelous God.
Each person you come into contact with is a marvelous creation of a marvelous God. He or she is dearly and deeply loved by a God who knows us each intimately, even down to the numbers of hairs on our head.
Luke 12:7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.
Take a moment today to “see” someone. Loving others is that simple.
“Love your neighbor, all of ’em.” -Christine Clarity McDonald
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