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As Halloween approaches, I can reflect back on times when my husband, Bill and I would mask our identities to bring some fun or laughter to a fall costume party. One time we ended up at the party as a gypsy and a motorcycle guy. Quite a cute couple if I must say.

I recognize that I don’t have to be invited to a costume party to wear a mask and hide the person that I really am. Even now, I can recognize times when I cannot escape the need to hide my brokenness. Often for me, it is the small things that cause me to be vulnerable and insecure. I sometimes can feel stuck in the loss and unable to move forward. Honestly, we all have wounds that can be sensitive at times and are complicated. It sometimes seems that pretending there is no struggle might take away the anxiety facing me at that moment. Do you try to mask your heart in an effort to prevent further pain?

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart,”
1 Samuel 16:7 (ESV)

God knows my heart, and nothing is hidden from the Lord. The problem with wounds, is that I tend to cover them up. I think that if I slap a band aid on it or mask the problem, it might heal on its own. As I walk through the day, and as I face emotional and spiritual struggles resentment or bitterness can fester in my heart. To heal in my journey through life after loss, it is necessary to allow God’s presence to fill my life and provide the strength and power I need to manage the day.

Just as a wound needs oxygen and daylight to heal, my journey through grief and loss requires God’s Word and prayer to create change and healing. I can ask God to use my moments of pain for His purposes. Only then can I overcome my fears of not being enough. My identity becomes clear when I let Him provide His peace and His presence to manage the next 10 minutes or the next 10 hours.

But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:16-18 (NIV)

Being transformed into the image of God requires a heart willing to trust God, willing to embrace God’s plan and willing to allow Him to write the storyline. I can be transformed as a believer in Jesus regardless of my loss. I can reflect on who I am in Christ and allow Him to provide strength in my weakness.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:2 (NIV)

Wearing a mask just does not work. Nothing is covered up that will not one day be revealed, and nothing is hidden that will not be known. Being transparent is significant and sacred. Prayer can bring me to a point of recognizing ways to replace my disappointment and sadness. The Lord has plans and purpose for each of us. It is necessary to find those plans and search for His purpose.

God’s plans can bring direction to my life and faith to my soul. My heart can change when I change my mind. As a believer in Christ, I need to reflect the glory of God. I need to remember my identity is in Jesus Christ. Only He is the one that can bring me through this valley of loss and take my brokenness to use for God’s glory.

Lord,

Please replace my sadness with faith. Allow me to see Your hand working and the purpose You provide for my life moving forward. Thank You for providing Your word to bring my life peace and direction. Help me when I am struggling with the next decision and the way to move forward. Allow me to drop the masks I sometimes use to hide the pain and to prevent healing in my life. In Jesus Name, Amen.