Perhaps, in all our safe separation and invisibility, we have forgotten that there is One who sees all, and before Him, we are free to come with unveiled faces.

An Unveiled Life in the Presence of God

Posted on by Michele Morin

A city’s gradual emergence from the coronavirus shut down corresponds to a certain atmosphere in its airport. My husband and I took off our masks just long enough to eat subs at a socially distant table, and then, our masks back in place, we settled ourselves near Gate A-3 to wait out the remainder of a three-hour layover in Baltimore.

A pair of uniformed airline employees on their lunch break caught my eye. She, brown-eyed and animated; he, somber and attentive; it soon became obvious this was no business lunch. Their masked interaction at the corner of my eye distracted me from the book I was trying to read.

“What in the world,” I wondered, “would it be like to date with mandatory masking? Has Cosmo addressed this in an article yet?” I smiled beneath my own mask as I invented titles and tag lines:  “COVID-19 Mask Moves:  Let Him Know You’re Interested!”

Drawn again to their soft laughter, I looked up just in time to see the young woman lower her mask, unveiling the full radiance of her dazzling smile. It seemed so intimate a gesture.

I turned back to my book.

In the spring of 2020, we have all been masked and hidden. Perhaps, in all our safe separation and invisibility, we have forgotten that there is One who sees all, and before Him, we are free to come with unveiled faces.

I’m writing over at (in)courage today about the beauty of an unveiled life before God. It would be a great gift if you’d join me there and add your thoughts and your concerns. How can we pray for you specifically so that the brightness of God’s glory may be put on display in your home and community?

Leaning into the risk of an unveiled life,

By the way, a visit to (in)courage has been part of my morning routine for years, because it’s a place where I consistently find biblical encouragement in a voice that sounds like grace. If that sounds good to you, too, go ahead and click here to subscribe so you can begin to receive regular email reminders that the door is always open there.

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I’ve collected some of the essays I’ve written since the outbreak of COVID-19 into a PDF called Peaceful Reflections for Perilous Times. It’s free for all newsletter subscribers, and I’d love to share it with you. To subscribe, either hop on the handy (and only slightly annoying) pop up form and enter your name and email address– or you can click here!

Photo of Masks by Afif Kusuma on Unsplash

Published by Michele Morin

Michele Morin is a teacher, blogger, reader, and gardener who finds joy in sitting at a table surrounded by women with open Bibles. She has been married to an unreasonably patient husband for thirty years, and together they have four sons, two daughters-in-love, three grandchildren, and one lazy St. Bernard. Michele loves hot tea and well-crafted sentences, poems that stop her in her tracks and days at the ocean with the whole family. She laments biblical illiteracy and advocates for the prudent use of “little minutes.” She blogs at Living Our Days, and you can connect with her on Facebook or Twitter.

43 thoughts on “An Unveiled Life in the Presence of God”

  4. Thanks for this narration. Here in my part of New Zealand (and probably all) we are pretty much past the virus, so the masks and the problems they could present are just a bit foreign to me.

    It’s great to see you at ‘My Corner of the World this week! Thanks for linking up with us.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Found you over at Betty’s blog – and have now subscribed. As Betty mentioned, we are living a pretty normal life here in New Zealand – for which I am thankful to God!
    Stay safe
    Blessings
    Maxine

    Liked by 1 person

  6. I’m in the Houston area, so it’s going to be a long time before we can go without masks and stop physically distancing. I love this reminder to not let our spiritual lives mirror the physical.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. I too have been wondering what it would be like to be dating at this time of social distancing and mandatory masks. Seems like quite the obstacle to try and work around. Thanks for sharing with us at Encouraging Hearts and Home. Pinned.

    Liked by 1 person

  9. I know this may sound weird, however, dating during a pandemic might not be so bad. Sure you can’t meet up and go on actual dates because of social distancing and staying home unless going out is essential, however, this is a great time to talk and really get to know someone and allow yourself to be known so that when the world does reopen, you have a knowledge of each other that you may not have otherwise. It’s even a great time to use online dating sites if done the right way. I’m going to write a post on this…

    Liked by 1 person

  10. So good to see you at (in)courage, Michele. This was a beautiful post …in all the chaos and stress that is our current world, isn’t it a blessing to be able to sit with, unmasked, with Jesus and let Him gently shine the light of His truth and love straight into our hearts and minds? Hugs, friend.

    Liked by 1 person

  12. I have great concern about how the young generations potential/present relationships are affected by the recent challenges they are having to cope with. I can’t even imagine how it will affect them long term. I hope they get the right support in the right places x x

    Liked by 1 person

  15. Lots of adjustments still to be made in 2020 – I’m glad that for me, dating isn’t one of them! But love those thoughts that we can come with unveiled faces to El Roi ‘the God who sees me’ Blessings to you!

    Liked by 1 person

  17. Such a beautiful perspective! I went into a small shop near my home yesterday and I was so taken aback by the shop owner who immediately declared when I walked through the door, “Oh Wow. You have the smilingest eyes ever. I wish I had smiling eyes while we have to wear masks, but I don’t and so you can’t even tell that I am smiling at you.” But I could tell that she was smiling because I could feel that her energy was good and kind. If only we could all feel the good energy that surrounds us all the time instead of focusing on the negative. Great post, my friend. Thanks for sharing and linking up!

    Shelbee
    http://www.shelbeeontheedge.com

    Liked by 1 person

  19. It feels great to have the restrictions lifted a bit now. We’re treading so carefully that we’ve not really seen that many people to see how they are actually interacting with face masks on. What a funny thought to be trying to date when wearing one. I suppose you wouldn’t have to worry too much about make up! Thank you for joining us for the #DreamTeamLInky

    Liked by 1 person

  20. I have finally ordered some masks! I am not looking forward to wearing them but will feel more confident being near strangers. Thanks for linking upw ith #dreamteamlinky

    Liked by 1 person

  21. ********************************************************
    Thank you for sharing at #OverTheMoon. Pinned and shared. Have a lovely week. I hope to see you at next week’s party too! Please stay safe and healthy. Come party with us at Over The Moon! Catapult your content Over The Moon! @marilyn_lesniak @EclecticRedBarn
    ********************************************************

    Liked by 2 people

  22. Congratulations! Your post was my feature pick at #OverTheMoon this week. Each Hostess displays their own features so be sure to visit me on Sunday evening and to see your feature! I invite you to leave more links to be shared and commented upon. Please don’t forget to add your link numbers or post title so we can be sure to visit!

    Liked by 1 person

  23. Masks are for protection not to hide ourselves away, to protect others from our risk not to protect us from theirs. We owe it to humanity to do what we can to preserve life. Thanks for linking up with #globalblogging

    Liked by 1 person

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