Unmasking Confidence
I love that confidence comes not in spite of our weaknesses, but because of them. The great gift that we are all still learning to receive is the depth and breadth of God’s love. When we begin to get more comfortable living through the weak places rather than covering them up or diligently trying to fix them, we begin to grow in confidence that God really does meet us there. We begin to understand that real change comes when we “turn our eyes on Jesus” and not our desire for Him to make us better people.
Unmasking Transformation
Unmasking beliefs, letting weaknesses be known, all this can feel pretty unnerving. It can take us so strongly into a sense of not being enough that we may find ourselves sinking internally! But that is never the point! God is not a God of condemnation or criticism. He never looks at you and says, “You sure did mess that up. Why didn’t you do better? Why aren’t you further along?” Whosever voice that is in your head, it’s not God’s. But oh, how convincing it can be.
Unmasking Hope
There’s this thing we all have in common as humans…we don’t like to be found wanting. When a need is placed before us, we like to meet it. When an opportunity comes our way, we like to take it. Meeting the challenges of life internally and externally is a deep value most of us hold. Weakness or lacking in some way does not seem like a place to pause and look around.
Unmasking Belief
Raw. Uncovered. Courageous. Seeking. Risk-taking. That’s what I witnessed today at a gathering where several global workers shared story and heart. Through tears and a kind of gentle agony, one woman opened her heart’s door and invited us inside. She told us how she had lived for years offering goodwill and Sunday answers even through abuse, heartbreak, and all the fallout of trauma.
Unmasking Acceptance
Just because something is real doesn’t mean we like it. Somehow when words like “transparent” and “authentic” come into the conversation there is an underlying assumption that because it’s real and authentic we’ll like it. But there are quite a few things that are real which I prefer covered up. Vegetables come to mind. I do like my broccoli quite covered in cheese. Smells are another. Some personal qualities also come to mind.
Unmasking Real
Imposter. It’s what I felt like for years. Coming to the states in my teens, I was unsure of how this new life went. So I watched carefully the people around me. I picked up nuances, actions and phrases along with values, directions and beliefs. All these seemed to create a pathway by which I could fit into the world around me. However, the learning curve was so steep that I just kept mimicking until I became known as the sum of the actions and beliefs which I had put on.
