We all wear masks. Some of us wear ours more than others, but we all wear them. The mask we choose differs depending on who we are with. With certain people or groups we keep it on all the time. With others, we may put it on in the middle of a conversation, usually when we begin to feel that familiar fear creep in. It's the fear that what we really feel, think, believe won't be acceptable to the other person. It's a fear that a true expression of who we are won't match the picture we believe they have of us.
These masks provide us with a false sense of security, providing temporary comfort at the expense of authenticity. They are created by the fear and anxiety that the people around us won't love and accept the real us, when the truth is...they are actually the thing that stands in the way. They are the thing that prevents us from truly connecting with those who would love us for who we are, including the good, the bad, and even the weird.
I have learned that when I ignore the fear, and dare to remove the mask, I free myself to engage with this world in a way that only I was designed to do...uniquely Kendra. Doing this brings me out of the shadows of fear and doubt, because it's not until I take off the mask that I am able to feel the sun on my face...
(Side Note- A great book on living authentically and finding true intamacy in all of our relationships, is Donald Millar's Scary Close, published by Nelson Books.)
