v DESCRIPTION OF MESSAGE TO MASK
We hear different messages throughout our lives, and sometimes certain ones stick. They make us feel something, usually something shameful, and so we end up believing something about ourselves that isn’t true. When we deal with things about ourselves that we want to hide, what do we do? We put up a mask.
v Mask of PERFORMANCE
Ø Message: My dad isn’t excited about a new baby.
Ø Feeling: Rejected.
Ø Belief: I was worthless.
Ø Mask: I have to earn my worth with PERFORMANCE.
v Mask of STRENGTH
Ø Message: My dad regularly forgot to tuck me in at night, come home for dinner, or remember anything I had going on.
Ø Feeling: Forgotten and alone.
Ø Belief: I’m invisible.
Ø Mask: I don’t need anyone. I AM STRONG.
v Mask of RESPONSIBILITY
Ø Message: You’re not important enough to take care of even though I’m the only adult in your life.
Ø Feeling: Unloved.
Ø Belief: I’m the only person who can take care of me and my sister.
Ø Mask: I AM RESPONSIBLE.
v Mask of INDEPENDENCE
Ø Message: My dad doesn’t care about my best but his best.
Ø Feeling: Angry.
Ø Belief: I wasn’t wanted.
Ø Mask: I don’t need you. I’m INDEPENDENT.
v Mask of BEING BETTER THAN YOU.
Ø After my father left for a year and a half, I was so good at my masks that I didn’t feel abandoned; I felt sorry for him and better than him.
Ø Message: He doesn’t care about me.
Ø Feelings: I don’t care about him!
Ø Belief: I’m a great daughter and a great person, and you’re stupid to let this slip away.
Ø Mask: I’m BETTER THAN YOU.
v THE JOURNEY BEGINS
Ø Psalm 63:7 But the more I thought about it and the more the Holy Spirit spoke to me, I realized how significant that verse was to me. God is my help, and because of that, I can sing and experience joy all while being hidden in the protection of God, not hidden by my masks. He had protected me my entire life, and for whatever reason he chose to do that, I was so humbled and overwhelmed with how much He loved me. It was after that that I started to identify my masks, take them off, and replace them with truth.
v THE PROCESS OF REMOVAL
Ø We all wear masks. Identifying one mask or one problem doesn’t make everything better, just like my dad leaving didn’t take all the hurt away with him. There’s a fear of taking off masks because you’re afraid you’ll lose who are, but the truth is that you become more like Jesus.
Ø First, you have to have an attitude of humility.
Ø Second, when do you feel unsettled, angry, or defensive? INVESTIGATE.
Ø Third, remember that lies lose their power when you call them out as lies.