The Masks We Wear

Middle School Camp 2

One of the things I love about photographing camp adventures is capturing the beauty of campers as they relax, have fun, make new friends, and learn about God’s love for them.

On the first day, campers are a bit nervous. Their expressions are careful when I photograph them playing the get-to-know-you game. Their actions are cautious as they take in this strange new environment called Camas Meadows Bible Camp. But given a day with their cabin, campers’ joyous goofiness is revealed. So beautiful!

Perhaps this is part of why we as a people both hate masks and yet can be so quick to create masks for ourselves.

Faramir, our speaker for middle school 2, talked during chapel about the masks we wear.

As controversy rages about masking for healthcare purposes, we’re nonetheless prone to cling to the masks of our own making with grim determination.

Are we the smart kid, the beautiful one, the science nerd, the athlete, the drama star?

That’s fine, but what if we are more than one thing?

What does the beautiful one do if she also loves science, computer games, and Jesus?

What does the athlete do if he also loves baking, back packing, and Bible study?

You would think these amazing and complex individuals would simply trust the Lord who made them and rest in the fact that they are deeply loved by the one who died just for them.

But even we as adults sometimes fall to the same temptation.

What do adults do at work, at their kids’ school, when they walk into a board game convention, or at a church potluck?

All too often, we hide behind the exact same things as our children. When stepping into a group of people, we put on a mask.

When we are at work, that “super responsible employee” mask slips over our faces.

Volunteering at Jog-A-Thon at our kids’ school … well, the “perfect parent mask” takes over.

At a sporting event? Yeah, it’s easy to let the “passionate fan” mask slide into place. Or even the “telling the refs and players how stupid they are” mask or that pesky “I never swear with church friends but football is serious business” mask.

Therein lies the problem. The masks we wear don’t always play nicely together. Sometimes they appear to represent completely different people with a completely different set of values.

Is it any wonder our children do the same?

But while the “Christian kid” mask at youth group, the “chess club champion” mask at school, and the “his dad never counts the bottles” mask that get a child invited to friends’ houses appear to make them blend right in with each group they encounter, God is concerned about deeper things.

Read more about our adventures at Middle School Camp 2 on The Campfire Blog!