Sometimes don’t you just feel like life is just one big masquerade ball? Everybody dresses up, puts on a mask and attends the party. The air is filled with high-pitched laughter and smiles which stay pasted on faces a little longer than usual. But behind those masks, beneath the fancy costumes, amidst the forceful laughter, it’s all just an act. You and I know all too well that often times, in order to hide our real pain, our real sorrow, our real confusion and loneliness, we put on ‘masks’; the best we can find, and attend this ball called life. Except unlike other parties, this party seems never-ending. It goes on and on and gets boring easily. It gets too hot and you’re dying to take off your mask but of course you can’t do that and risk letting anybody see the real you! So you just go through the motions, mingling with everybody when all you really want to do is take off your mask and get some fresh air. Sometimes you even toy with the idea of showing everybody the real you but you chicken out and decide that it’s too big a risk to take, for fear of being judged, misunderstood or laughed at.
I don’t know about you but I certainly can relate. There was a time when I couldn’t show anybody my ‘real face’. I was too afraid, embarrassed, worried what people might think. Growing up, I never properly learned how to express and deal with my emotions and identity so I just did what seemed best and put on a façade to hide what was really going on inside me. Like many others, I found a mask which fit perfectly, put it on and attended the party. But if you’ve ever been there, then you know that no matter how many masks you put on or how long you stay at the party, at the end of the day you have to go back home and take off the mask and deal with the real you. And you will attest to the fact that it gets exhausting keeping up appearances every day, putting on a show for everyone. You act like you’re enjoying the party when deep down all you want is some quality time to think, someone to talk to, someone who can relate to your pain and is willing to share your sorrows with you. Someone who will encourage your ideas and dreams, who will tell you everything is going to be okay, who will just be there for you.
If any of what I said reaches out to you in any way, then this blog is for you. It depicts the journey to discovering the REAL you. Who you were made to be, not who the world has made you think you are (Colossians 3:3). If you’re as tired as I was of hiding behind the mask and pretending to be someone you’re not then you’ve come to the right place. Together, we’ll discover our true identity in Christ and I guarantee that once you find that identity, you’ll never be the same.
“Laughter can conceal a heavy heart, but when the laughter ends, the grief remains.” Proverbs 14:13 (NLT)
Photo credit: Pinterest
MORE: DISCOVERING OUR IDENTITY IN CHRIST 