Friend-Infested Faces

I knew he was coming late Tuesday night, as I was battling a sore throat and headache. The corner of my mouth felt irritated and was turning pink. I searched my apartment for Neosporin and applied 3 coats…but all to no avail. The next morning I woke up and there he was… my new friend, Mr. Cold Sore.

It’s funny what happens to us when ‘friends’ make their homes on our faces, whether they come in the form of zits, pimples, coldsores, or even bedsheet lines from an intensive nap-fest. We avoid eye contact, change the way our hair is parted so that we create the magical ‘concealing curtain,’ plop on a hat, or put on 3 extra coats of makeup. Or, we might even try to dress up the rest of ourselves so that all attention is away from our face and fixed on the stunning leopard-skin stiletos.

But what really bothered me was the very fact that the coldsore bothered me. (Does that make sense?) Here I am, telling other people not to worry about their appearance because ‘it’s the inner beauty that matters, and as long as we know our identity in God, we can be completely secure, yadda yadda yadda.’ But when my friend comes and makes his loud appearance, I want to dim the lights in the room and play ‘hide-and-don’t-seek.’ I couldn’t help but think, why am I so insecure about my appearance and people’s perception of me?

It’s sobering moments like this that help me see that I haven’t really come as far as I’d like. Every day, I’m constantly susceptible to the same old insecurities that I’ve overcome in the past, and every day I have to claim God’s truth and stand with full confidence in the spiritual identity and physical body He has given me. So the next time you see me with a friend-infested face, please make sure I’m not sporting a new hairstyle and leopard-skin stiletos.