Mystery Stories

     It must have started with Boxcar Children and Bobbsey Twins. Somewhere along the way I got introduced to Encyclopedia Brown, and I was hooked. For years, I wasn't that interested in something that wasn't a mystery. Soon it was Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, and The Three Investigators. At last I ended up with Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, and Jane Marple.  Today, I read an occasional mystery story, but I am equally happy to satisfy myself solving the mysteries one finds in an occasional escape room. 
    One thing I have learned throughout my long education of mysteries is that things are almost never what they seem.  I discover suddenly on chapter eighteen that a main character simply can't be trusted. Stone walls are never solid, and many times contain secret chambers behind them. The famous painting being guarded day and night turns out to be a clever forgery hung there by some devious guard working with a thieving gang. 

    I always find myself breathing a sigh of relief as one by one the mysteries are unmasked and truth is set free. Such a relief it is to finally see the complete and honest picture when the hoaxes are all ripped away! 

    Although the façade we find in stories seem futile, we don't have so much of an aversion to them in real life. I've noticed it starts in third or fourth grade. Suddenly it is no longer socially acceptable to like your teacher. We start to worry about what brand of shoes are the best. Those that struggle in sports or in their schoolwork do their best to hide behind cutting up, a no-care attitude, or loud bluster.

    As we grow older, it extends to other areas. We find ourselves trying to mask things that we think other people won't like about us. Desperate to fit into what we think is the mold, we cover up our real feelings. We hide the fact that we had fun hanging out with someone that's not in the popular group. Our houses must be in perfect order before we can invite company lest someone realize that we actually don't have everything under control.

    Of course I'd like to encourage everyone to drop the mask, slide out from behind the perceived safety of a façade and grasp the courage to be the real you, but that's not the thought that impressed me today. My heart turns to the perceptions we have of our Heavenly Father. Sometimes we imagine He somehow is wearing a mask just like we do. We began to suspect that He is just pretending to care about us. There are days we imagine Him leaving us to fend for ourselves, and tossing us only a few leftover blessings if He thinks of it.

    But He is Truth! His love for each one of is not a hoax. It is real and living. His care for us extends to every little detail. The hard things that come to us are not proof that our Father has left us alone. His heart is still with us, His hand still reaching for ours. His Truth will never change. There are no hoaxes, no facades, no masks.

   The greatest mystery, as far as I can tell, is how He is able to love us just as we are, with all our faults and failures. How He is able to see past our feeble efforts at masking our inadequacies and love us for exactly who we are. Someday I look forward to discovering the answer in the glorious home He is preparing for us all where Truth will stand eternal. Will you meet me there?