Removing The Mask

We live in a world where people are striving to be better than each other and struggle to keep up the appearance that we have everything under control, at all times. People wear masks all around us.  Masks that tell everyone that we are okay. Masks that conceal our hurts and our pain. We even wear masks that help us pretend that we are in a place in our lives that we truly are not. 

The hardest part of wearing a mask, is that we all know when we have a mask on. We know when we have purchased a car outside of our financial ability for status, when we have said we are okay but are fighting back tears, and even the mask that says we have an amazing life when deep inside we are struggling to understand why we are parenting alone.

We all know the truth. The truth is that no one has life under control at all times and that there is always someone who will be better at something than you. Why then do we continually reach the point of exhaustion and stress that is associated with how the world perceives us? Isn't it time that we care more about doing some things well rather than all things well? Isn't it more important to concentrate on the eternal rather than the material? Dr. Meg Meeker recently said something to me that was very enlightening. She said, "I firmly believe that each person should live within their strengths because within their strengths they do good work. Living outside of your talents and strengths is not good for anyone." Knowing your strengths and where God has placed you for this season in your life will help you remove your mask and feel more real.

What I'm talking about isn't necessarily a single-parent issue but something that most people deal with. Allowing yourself to truly live in your season will help others around you as well. It does me no good to pretend I am something that I am not. It does no good to stress myself out for the sake of how I appear to others. When I live in my season I can truly be vulnerable and available for others. Time to remove the mask.