(Un)Masked Warrior

Love is one of the most profound yet challenging aspects of our human experience. We all long to feel it deeply and sincerely, be it through friendships, romantic relationships, or even within our families, yet we struggle to grow in love. Our past experiences, including traumas and disappointments, have shaped our thinking to fear vulnerability. We do not see the good in them and fail to enjoy the liberty of authentic living in Christ Jesus.

We immerse ourselves in work, pushing ourselves to the brink of exhaustion, all while ignoring the wounds we carry within. Many of us unknowingly commit to a race that drives us further from ourselves – away from facing our shortcomings and embracing who we truly are – the good, the bad, and even the darkest parts we have mastered to tuck away.

I am proudly Nigerian, Yoruba to be precise, and my culture has taught me to keep family tragedies private. Keep mute about personal failures and openly condemn those who may have gone through the same path, I silently dealt with. If you can identify with anything I have written and feel saddened, please do not. I too have been self-righteous one too many times. I embarked on my healing journey, the moment God sent me my kind, my tribe – the ones who were not ashamed showing me their wounds – so I could heal from mine.

John 8:32
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”You must know the truth, accept the truth for it to set you free. Many of us are still in denial, fight acceptance of the experience and reject peace – unknowingly.

My mother became a widow at the tender age of 41 — a mother of four, left to shoulder the weight of the responsibility of raising a family alone. My dad was just 47 when he died, with his 48th birthday approaching that December.

1994 — the year that altered the course of our family forever. I found myself stuck in that moment for a long time, struggling to move forward. The bond I shared with my father was deep, and his absence left a void that felt impossible to fill.

He traveled frequently for business, yet I loved him with every fiber of my being. In some way, I always felt there was a special bond between us — quiet yet undeniable. My father was a person that captured moments. Be it in the form of videos, pictures or even letters. That he did. He wrote me each time he travelled. The same letters I have till this day kept away in a book. He stood six feet tall, a proud member of the “beard gang,” with an impeccable sense of style. He embodied authority and was the heartbeat of our family — nothing seemed to function without him. My mother was deeply in love with him, and their relationship filled our home with a fragrance I hoped to recreate in my own marriage. My father honored, protected, and loved my mother with everything he had.

And in the blink of an eye, all of it was gone. Life without him was incredibly hard. The new normal felt like a constant nightmare, and adjusting to it became a daily struggle. I was eight when he passed. And the void this pain created invited many other cousins. Doubt was the biggest one I fought, followed by mistrust. And because I struggled in these areas, rejection came right along and had anger right on its back. 

You may wonder where I am headed with all of this, why I titled this blog post “(Un)Masked Warrior and how all this centers around foundations and our journey of becoming. 

It is simple, we are not honest enough to share our pitfalls to deliver another soul and encourage them that they too can overcome anything they are dealing with. I listed a few of the struggles I had, but each challenge I faced, either invited another companion or revealed a silent one that has been there, such as pride. 

This leads me to Jesus. You might wonder why. It’s because Jesus provides the perfect example for this analysis. Despite His immense power, His apostles were deeply flawed individuals. Yet, He knew both their strengths and weaknesses, loved them unconditionally, and empowered them to accomplish even greater works.

John 20:24-29
²⁴ Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
So, he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

²⁶ And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” ²⁷ Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving but believing.”

²⁸ And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”²⁹ Jesus said to him, ^[f]“Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

If we view our inner wounds, the ones we silently carry, as reflections of Jesus’ physical wounds and share them as testimonies of our victories, we can help guide another soul back to God and set them free. Your wounds, experiences, rejections, and traumas were never meant to be nursed in silence. Each of them occurred because God permitted it, serving as the refining fire designed to shape you into Christ’s likeness.

Unfortunately, too often the opposite happens, and precious time is lost in the struggle. Instead, choose to be an ambassador of hope, light, and change. Jesus revealed His wounds and invited Thomas to touch them. Who have we been called to reach? Who have we allowed to see and touch our wounds? The enemy deceives God’s children into believing they are alone in their suffering. This lie is shattered when one vessel chooses to speak truth and share light. Darkness was never meant to be hidden—it is meant to be exposed.

Some may come to realize that the experiences they’ve endured were part of God’s plan to birth a ministry rooted in their personal journey. Our struggles are never meant to make us bitter; rather, they are intended to reveal His glory and deepen our capacity to love.

Remove the mask, dear warrior and understand that

Your life was never a script of failure.

You are not a mistake.

You will heal.

Light and Glory will be revealed through you.

And there is nothing the devil can do to stop it.