Behind the Mask

As an elementary teacher, I spend 180 days with my students each year.  And without fail, I can tell you the 2 craziest days of those 180 will be Halloween and Valentine’s Day.  On Valentine’s Day there is a “love potion” of sugar and giggles and flattering cards exchanged that brings out a crazy side of every child.  On Halloween there is the excitement of the costume, the anticipation of candy, and the chance to- for one night- be the hero or princess you always wanted to be. 

It tends to start in late September… the rumors of who they are going to dress up as for Halloween.  And soon you hear about trips to Stuff*Mart and Party Metropolis to pick up the accessories and costumes necessary for the transformation.  Many little girls want to be a beautiful princess complete with tiara, sparkly eye shadow, and sash that comes untied 947 times throughout the one dress-up day.  Boys want to be a super hero from their favorite comic book or movie and are THRILLED by the thought of making you guess who they really are behind the mask. 

I remember the excitement of putting together my costume each year.  My mom wasn’t one to go and buy costumes for us- we usually created something by digging through the “days gone by” in her closet.  For me that was more thrilling than anything we could have bought.  I loved having the chance to wear a skirt over top of the crinoline slip from her wedding dress- it made me feel like the belle of the ball.  I loved discovering the treasures of her closet when she brought out her high school letter jacket for me to be a cheerleader, or polyester and printed leisure suits from her teenage years in the 70’s.  The creativity of taking these items and turning them into a “costume” was a challenge that I loved to tackle each year.  It let me, for one night, pretend to be something I was not.  And the anticipation for that night was huge- I couldn’t wait for the chance to show up and shine in that identity.  My younger sister went as her hero, Garth Brooks, for at least three years.  See she did not want to grow up to be a country singer, she literally though she could BE Garth Brooks.    There just really was something special about how you felt in that costume.  It gave you just a little more confidence in yourself, a little more spring in your step, and a little escape from your “everyday” life as a kid. 

The Wilson Girls do Halloween, circa 1994

I will admit, since I am an elementary teacher, I do still try to put together a fun costume as a favorite story book character for the annual dress up day at school.  But the older I get, the less exciting it is.  Probably because, if I am really honest, I now put on my “mask” far more often than just one day in October.  If I am stressed or feeling less than confident, I will reach for a lipstick that is a shade darker or bolder- it is something to hide behind.  (Just wait- during spring standardized testing at school you will see me in Powerful Pink every day haha!)  I will fluff my hair just a little bigger than usual and hold my chin up and smile as I give myself a pep talk in the mirror that I CAN tackle what this day is throwing at me even when (no-especially when) I don’t think I have it in me.  There is just something about putting on the “mask.” 

The difference between the child in the costume, and me behind the “mask” is the motivation for the alter identity.  As a child, the costume is a sign of who you want to be and how you potentially see yourself.  As an adult, (for me at least) it is something to hide behind when I’m not secure in who I am.  I need to learn to shift my vision back to what I saw as a little girl- when I aspired to claim an identity, not hide from one.  I need to remember that my identity is found in Christ and who He is making me through Him- and oh how I want to put on that identity daily.  I don’t have to hide behind a mask or a costume to be a child of the King, bought with the highest price, chosen, set apart, called, made in His image, and lavished in His love.  And here is the best part, through Him, I can put on that identity every day- not just once a year.  Thank you, Lord, for letting me wear the identity that you have created for me… and thank you for bright lipstick so I have the confidence to claim that identity when I look in the mirror.  😉

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.  Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known.  But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see him as he is.      

1 John 3: 1-2