Costumes We Keep

So, this is the week of crazy costumes! Whether driving down the freeway, getting a Starbucks or showing up at a Halloween party, it’s the week of the costume!

Costume parties are so much fun! Everyone is in character and doing things they might not normally do. There’s a feeling attached with wearing a costume that feels delightfully free! We can hide behind the mask and be someone we’re not…for a while.

But sometimes, we hide behind our own personal costumes that we erect. We don’t even know what we don’t know about ourselves. Others may see it; but we miss it. We may not even know that we’re hiding anything!

Pete Scazzero, in the book ‘The Emotionally Healthy Leader’ writes “One of the great truths of life is this: You cannot change what you are unaware of." The process of becoming aware of your true self requires both courage and hard work. Scazerro also writes “Using brain imaging, researchers have documented how our brains are rewired when we learn to name our feelings.

Do you name your feelings or hide them? Just consider some of the questions below as you spend time with God. How might God help you consider and respond to these questions: (The Emotionally Healthy Leader, pp. 71)

• What am I feeling? And what am I feeling about that feeling?
• What am I sad about? Glad about? Angry about? Anxious about?
• Where in my body am I feeling tension or stress (e.g., shoulders, neck, stomach)? What might this be telling me about what is going on inside of me?

There was a period in my own life where I set aside feelings to simply exist. I don’t think I even knew that I was doing this! As I’ve taken more time over the years to become healthy in my spirit, mind and body, I’ve seen the value of my “feeling” muscles. There’s more peace and greater freedom as I no longer suppress them.

What are the costumes you keep? I find such comfort in knowing that nothing is hidden from my God. So, why hide? God loves to come along side us and build into us a new place of maturity in our brokenness. He is all about freedom!

“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain for the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.