What Mask Are You Wearing?

Have any of you seen the movie Wonder?

If you haven’t, watch it!

I spent the better part of the movie trying not to cry too much, laughing, adoring this cute kid with a face deformity, and feeling my heart ache for kids who are bullied.

A bit of background:

The movie stars this little boy, Auggie, who was born with a face deformity. He was homeschooled for the better part of his life until his parents decide it’s time to send him into the “real world.”

I’m not sure why they thought sending him to school for the first time during middle school was a good idea – we all know middle school is the worst – but they did.

He’s bullied, picked on, ignored, etc. at various times. It’s heartbreaking to watch because he really is cute in his own way.

But, Auggie loves Halloween. As he’s walking into the school with his costume on, he makes the comment, “I wish every day could be Halloween. We could all wear masks all the time. Then, we could walk around and get to know each other before we got to see what we looked like under the masks.”

My heart broke. Again.

This can be taken two ways.

If we wore costume masks, we would be forced to get to know each other as people versus judging someone by their appearance.
Aren’t we all wearing some kind of mask anyway? How often do we let the world see who we are?

That being said, my question for you is what mask are you wearing? What facade do you put on every day to keep people from getting too close, knowing that you’re actually struggling with something, or maybe just that you’re a broken human?

I think we all can agree social media is a mask.

But, here are a few others that could be considered a “mask.”

-Always smiling even when it’s not an accurate portrayal of how you feel

-“I”m fine” or “I’m good” being the only response you give when someone asks how you are

-Material facades

–Being the one who is always making jokes, laughing, or the “life of the party”

I think we’re so quick to put on our masks when we don’t want the outside world to know what’s going on.

We’ve almost been brainwashed to think that vulnerability is bad. We run from emotions and situations where we share part of who we are because everyone’s so scared of being known.

But, being known can be a beautiful thing.

Let your friends and family know you. Be real with a stranger. Open up to your small group.

Jesus fully knows you and He made you the way you are so you can share your greatness with the world.

I guess my wish for society is to not only be ok with but to accept the ugly, the bad, and the mistakes in life. Accept our deformities, our issues, and our brokenness. Embrace them, in fact.

Maybe by doing so we’ll learn how to love people better and encourage each other when times get hard.

I think most would say I’m always on the go, doing something fun, and seem like I don’t have a care in the world.

So, here’s me taking my mask off.

In some ways, I don’t have a care in the world because I try to give all my cares to Jesus and lay them down at the foot of the cross. But, in full transparency, I stress and agonize a lot.

I think about the future, my online store, when will I find a part time job, if I’m doing my part in bringing people to know Jesus, am I loving my friends and family well, etc.

I would agree that usually “I’m always on the go,” but that hasn’t been the case lately. It’s actually a big adjustment for me. I feel useless and like a bump on a log because I don’t constantly have something to do or somewhere to be. Not to mention my social life has almost been cut in half since I’ve been home.

While I have moments of happiness and times where I’m doing something fun, the majority of my time right now is spent at the gym, getting things ready to launch the store, and re-watching One Tree Hill (4th time around, guys).

It’s hard for me to sit still and maybe that’s a lesson the Lord is teaching me right now.

So, while my social media says I’m happy, carefree, and on the go, my unmasked, sweatpants wearing self says I’m in a ‘bleh’ mood most of the time.

Who are you when your mask is off?