What I Think About Face Masks

There is one thing almost everybody in the world seems to share in common right now, and that is having to deal with the ramifications of COVID-19 in one way or another. You watch videos or see photos of people in other countries, and yes, they’re wearing face masks, too. We may not share similar religious or political beliefs, but we all know what it’s like to be asked to wear a face mask pretty much everywhere we go!

Generally, people seem to fit into two groups: They either believe that 1) Face masks are necessary for everybody’s health, or 2) Face masks are useless at best and a conspiracy to control us at worst. Of course, this whole COVID thing is more complicated than the issue of face masks. We could talk about vaccines, or the closure of businesses, or governmental interferance with the way churches gather, or folks being forced to stay home, etc. But, I’m not going to talk about all of those things right now. For the moment, I just want to talk about the face masks.

So, where do I stand on this?

Well, I’m in the middle. Not in the middle as in “I just can’t make up my mind about this,” or “I don’t have any convictions,” but as in “I’m open to new information on this,” and “I do have convictions, and one of them is to not be adamant about this right now.” Of course, if you’re even slightly familiar with this blog, you know that I’m not in the middle on a lot of things; it just depends on what they are and how much I currently know about them.

I, personally, think that face masks may not be very effective, though I am open to the possibility that they may be helpful under certain conditions. There are a lot of ways that germs can get into our bodies. I know a lady who carefully wipes down all surfaces she touches, wears a face mask everywhere she goes, and will not meet in person with other people unless they are also “taking every precaution.” And you know what? She got COVID. She must have missed something when she was “taking every precaution.”

My family and I, on the other hand, are not taking every precaution. We are taking all the normal, reasonable precautions that we’ve always observed as part of maintaining and protecting good health, things like washing our hands before meals and covering our mouths when we sneeze. We still shake people’s hands, if they are okay with it; we don’t wipe down every surface; we breathe lots of fresh air; we go places when we can; and we talk with other people face to face, not mask to mask. None of us (and there are ten in our family) has gotten COVID yet, as far as we can tell. Now, I’m not saying we won’t ever get it; I’m just saying that it hasn’t happened yet, despite the fact that we’re not taking every precaution.

However, I do wear a face mask sometimes. Why?

-I want to be respectful of those who are genuinely concerned about potential health hazards.

-I want to be respectful of businesses who ask it of their customers.

-I want to be respectful of our church leaders, who encourage all churchgoers to wear one to their seats.

And, I want to be respectful of my husband, who wants us to live at peace with those around us by wearing a face mask if that is what they want.

I willingly do all this, despite the fact that I’m honestly worried that mask-wearing will turn us into a society where we’re even more distant from each other, even more dependant on the screen, even less willing to connect meaningfully with each other, where we’re paranoid and afraid of each other for whatever sickness someone else might possibly be carrying. I’m worried about all of that . . . and more.

I’m just not that worried about the getting sick part. I believe we need to make ourselves internally strong by eating healthy foods and drinking lots of water. We need to get exercise and spend time outdoors in the fresh air and sunshine. We need contact with other people, and we need germs. Our bodies need to develop robust immune systems. God made our bodies amazingly able to combat threats from without, supported by defenses from within, IF we take care of ourselves in the right way.

I also believe that using Essential Oils can help boost our immune systems. Imagine taking a walk through a sun-drenched pine forest on a warm Spring day. While diffusing Pine Essential Oil may not be exactly the same thing, it may be just about as close as we can get while not actually leaving the house. I think that if you were to look up the benefits of Pine Essential Oil, plus any of the other evergreens, you would find some intriguing stuff!

So, I don’t wear a face mask all the time, though I do wear one sometimes, when it seems like the respectful thing to do. In those situations, I try to be as dignified as possible about the whole thing, and as friendly as possible while having a covering over my smile.

*UPDATE — August 25, 2021: Since this article was written, our church no longer asks attendees to wear masks, and neither do many shops and offices (though some still do). In our community, many people are not taking masks seriously anymore, and I’m glad about that. We need to get back to normal, to sanity. I’ve come to feel that perhaps not wearing a mask, though it may seem disrepectful to some people, may actually be good for them, since it communicates, “Germs are not our masters. We are not a slave to fear. We are not afraid of the ‘pestilence that stalks in darkness’ (Psalm 91:6) since God is our refuge and fortress (Psalm 91: 2). We don’t need to wear masks. We can be ourselves around each other.” So, as much as I want to continue being respectful, I have mixed feelings about it. However, if my husband wants us to wear masks, then I will go along with his wish. Though the information below may seem a little dated, it might still apply for some people in certain situations, even now. Perhaps it can be a helpful solution for them!*

We have a few homemade masks that we like to use, and my daughter, Giselle, has crocheted some very pretty ear-saver bows we are calling the “Earresistably Cute Ear Savers.” These can help with the discomfort that sometimes results from the pressure of the face-mask loops behind the ears. The bows can also help tighten a face mask that is a bit loose; and, with a hack we discovered using hair bands, they can even help loosen a face mask that is a bit too tight. I’ve used these bows on my littlest girls to help keep their masks in place, and they look adorable!

I also found that I can use one of these over my headcovering when I go to church, if I’m wearing one that wraps over my ears and makes it cumbersome to be putting on and removing a face mask at different times during our visit to church:

For me, the bow works best when it is resting over a bun or ponytail, though it can also be placed at the back of the neck, which is what I did with my five-year-old today at church to keep her mask in place (it’s a little too big for her). Below, Giselle and I explain more about these cute little bows:

I hope you enjoy the video! If you’re interested in checking out these bows or would like to see other beautiful products that Giselle has made, here is a link to her website:

Crochet-tions by Giselle

~Jessica

22 thoughts on “What I Think About Face Masks

  1. Thank you for posting this! I agree we need to be respectful of rules being enacted, even if we are uncertain as to their necessity. I also completely agree that masks are putting a barrier (heh) between people.

  2. I appreciate your perspective on this. I struggled so much when wearing a mask that after several months of suffering (and being naïve enough to still think it would only be another week or so) I finally asked the doctor for a note that would exempt me from mask-wearing while grocery shopping. I’m glad that option is available and legally recognized here, even if the general public for the most part isn’t aware of it, or at least doesn’t approve. In the small village where I live the grocery store owners are friendly and understanding (also being exempt from having to wear a mask), but every time we drive to a bigger town for groceries the hostility people display towards anyone not wearing a mask is shocking! In Germany some stores have even started posting signs in front of the building asking people who are exempt from wearing a mask to stay outside. Austria hasn’t gone that far yet, but people are required to wear N95 masks now, rather than cloth masks. It has gone on so long I don’t know how people expect to be able to return to normal at some point. There’s so much mental damage being done.

    1. So many good points, there, Erika!

      Basically, I don’t wear a mask unless I feel I “have” to. We made our own cloth masks with only one layer of fabric. This makes it a little easier to breathe, and it meets the requirements of most places around here. At the hospital, though, they will give you a surgical mask if you come in with a fabric one.

      I hate what all of this is doing to our world. I agree that it doesn’t seem as if this is going to just go away anytime soon. There are definitely some very serious issues to consider, here, which will hopefully become clearer to us as more time passes.

      I was intrigued to hear about what it’s like over where you are. Thank you for offering your input!
      ~Jessica

  3. In Japan wearing a mask is being like mandatory though we are not forced by law. Students are not allowed to enter school without mask in most case nowadays and many shops/ companies ask workers and customers to wear a mask.Wearing a mask is regarded as etiquette to reduce risk of infection for others in Japan. Not only in Japan but in other east Asian countries there is the same(similar)way of thinking I guess.

    Off course there are people who do not like wearing a mask in Japan. But most of them wear a mask in practice. Japan maybe an orderly society, but it is a society with very strong tuning pressure at the same time.I was surprised when I knew for the first time that ‘wearing a mask or not’ often becoming very sensitive topic in other countries.

    I do not have negative opinion to wear a mask, but I noticed wearing a mask all the time can be some obstacles to find new friends and interact with them.For we cannot show our face each other.(Students are required to look foward and not to talk to anyone when they have school lunch at school.)
    I hope that this pandemic will be over soon and we will be able to see our relatives and friends and enjoy with them like we did before.
    I think that your way is very well balanced.

    1. Hello, Sanae! I really enjoyed reading your very interesting comment!

      Thank you for helping us know what things are like in your country. I was surprised to hear about the students not being able to talk to each other during lunch. Yes, I think you’re right that wearing a mask can be a barrier to being able to find new friends and interact with them. Facial expression is a very important part of how we connect with each other, using emotional cues. This is especially important for babies and children. I, too, hope this will all be over soon, and am waiting to see the direction this will take in the upcoming months.

      ~Jessica

    2. The students not be allowed to talk to each other just about made me want to cry. I hope this pandemic will end soon.

      1. Hi,Regina. They are not allowed to talk only while having lunch. Japanese government closed all school from March to May in 2020,but since after that they decided not to close school again. So they made such rules ‘for safety’.(Wearing a mask while staying at school,not talking each other while having lunch, measuring fever before going to school etc).
        I understand that our government wants to prevent infection among kids,but still I feel that such rules can be burden especially for small kids. I hope someday soon this pandemic will end, we will be able to see each other without wearing a mask.

  4. Hello Jessica,
    While everyone is sick of talking about the virus/masks, sharing our opinions about it is important. There is a time and place for it and you handled it very well. Your respecting your husband’s lead on this, which is a great example to those wives younger or newer in faith.

    My youngest son has several disabling diseases and cannot wear a mask. My husband and I are both religiously convicted not to wear these masks and I have a plastic coated card hanging on my purse with the applicable constitutional laws on it allowing me the right to have my convictions upheld. Many people have said ” it is a store’s right to make rules etc.. “, however, this is not correct. Any business open to the public, is a public accommodation and as such must abide by the laws that protect our constitutional rights in regard to discrimination. Peggy Hall has an interesting website ( she is a christian) with a wealth of information, even for each state, at her website and Youtube, The Healthy American. org. But all that aside, I totally agree with you that if you are not convicted to not wear the masks doing so for the sake of peace is commendable. There are some terrible things occurring because of what people are being forced to do, or not able to do, due to this virus, if it indeed exists. My cousin supposedly died of this at the start of it all. Once he left his home in an ambulance his wife never laid eyes on him again. After 8 days he died, alone. I feel like MAYBE had his loved ones been there he might have had more fight in him. No funeral was allowed and she was not allowed in to view him. His family lives in agonizing fear of this virus and finally his sister rather pushed me to share my opinion. I said, “Your dear brother had co-morbidities ( high blood pressure, obesity, etc…) and he suffered complications to an illness, which could have been the result of a number of illnesses that can cause this.”

    Our whole family contracted what was said to be a novel form of Swine Flu in 2014. I have never been so sick in my adult life, but our handicapped son developed complications – pneumonia and Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome ( survival rate is 35%) and his life was saved by intubation and being rotated nearly upside down in a special bed. He was in the hospital for nearly a month. Our oldest son was transported to the same hospital just days after the youngest was on life support with similar complications. He recovered more quickly and was able to go home in 9 days. I was managing to stay out of the hospital though I was struggling with what was surely pneumonia, but God kept me going!!! We slept in the waiting room for a month and people were so good to us!! It was so awful, yet so rewarding. So my point is any of these respiratory illnesses can be serious to the vulnerable. We still do not do flu shot ( what a hard decision to make), but we work hard to find ways to improve our handicapped son’s health.

    Even though I am convicted against wearing a mask and have respectfully stood my ground a few times, I have given in a few times for my son’s sake ) to visit his dr.). I prayed and prayed about it and we concluded I should wear it. To some this may seem stupid, but we feel very strongly we are to stand against the misinformation and confusion surrounded this worldwide tragedy.

    Aside from this subject, I want to tell you how much I enjoy your videos and blogs. I am an older woman, but am so happy to see a woman of your age with such spiritual maturity sharing thoughtfully things we all ought to think about.
    Your husband and children are certainly blessed to have you!!

    1. Hello, Joanie! I appreciate all your great feedback!

      I looked up the Healthy American website, and I will be going back to it again soon to check it out in more depth. Thank you for sharing that!

      Yes, there are a TON of things that deeply bother me about this whole pandemic. My husband and I are waiting to see what turn this is all going to take in the upcoming months. I know for sure we are against the vaccine, since we don’t vaccinate, anyway. We also don’t believe the coronavirus is worth all the bad measures that are being taken to “combat” it (the example you provided about your cousin having been separated from his family at the end of his life was a fitting, though very sad, example). The cure should never be worse than the disease. So, there are definitely some things we won’t do (the vaccine, for one), and that we would fight for (the right to keep our children with us at home), even though we have decided to take the “be at peace with other people” approach to the specific issue of wearing masks.

      Thank you for your very nice remarks concerning my blogs and videos. It certainly was encouraging to me to hear those things!
      ~Jessica

  5. I try to be as peaceful as possible. Its hard though I suffer from panic attack badly and unfortunately masks make me closterfobic they I get very very hot next thing you know boom full blown panic at Wal-Mart. However I do try to be as respectful as possible!

    1. Hi, Alie! Thanks for joining in by sharing what your own experience has been like! I really appreciate the feedback!

      I’m sorry to hear about your having panic attacks. In some cases, it may not actually be necessary to wear a mask, if it is such a problem for you. In our Walmart, even though there’s a sign outside that says they require masks, no one says anything if you come in without one. And so it is with many others businesses, I’ve noticed. Also, you could wear your mask in the door, but then when you are more separated from other people, you could pull your mask down below your nose so you can breathe better. I’ve seen many people doing this, too. If anyone has a problem with it, all you have to do is slip the mask back up over your nose. I think that most people don’t mind if you’re not wearing a mask, as long as you’re not right up close to them (the six-foot rule), and you’re not clearly sick.

      I’m glad to hear that despite the personal drawbacks, you are trying to be as respectful as possible about wearing a mask. Some people (as in Joanie’s comment above) respectfully and peacefully refuse to wear a mask. That’s an option, if your convictions go that direction (the site she referenced looks like a very helpful source of information). We just have to pick our battles carefully. Not everything is worth a fight, so we need to use wisdom in discerning what we should rebel against, and what we shouldn’t. This is a personal decision that you will make best after considering it before God with your husband, if married.

      ~Jessica

  6. I wear a mask out of respect for the rules of places that require them but oh how I hate it. We were on on way home yesterday from the doctor’s office and we passed by a elementary school. All those little children were wearing a face mask. It was just awful to see.
    I miss seeing people’s faces. I even miss seeing frowny faces! We make our own masks too though I have bought some to have on hand in case I don’t have clean ones.
    Sometimes I think that face masks have become a fashion statement.
    Friend A: “Hey girl! I just love your mask! You’re really rocking that color and it just brings out those gorgeous eyes!”
    Friend B:” Why thank you! Yours looks so cute too. You know face masks are all the rage. You can’t go anywhere without seeing someone wearing one.”
    Friend A: “And they come in all different styles too. And the nice thing about them is you can’t tell if someone is frowning at you if your mask color is clashing with your outfit.”
    Sorry Jessica I couldn’t resist this.😆

    1. Yes, Regina, I’ve noticed those things, too! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

      I think that it may be true that for some people, wearing a mask is a sort of fashion statement, as you say. For others, their attitude might better be reflected in the remark, “Well, I guess if I have to wear a mask I might as well make it look nice.” The people I really don’t get are the ones who wear a mask when they’re all alone in their car, or are walking alone on the sidewalk, or are riding their bike, or are hiking through the fresh, clean forest. That just doesn’t make sense to me! One would think they’d be tired of wearing a mask all the time and would appreciate a break from it. And, breathing in some fresh oxygen from outside sounds to me like it would help us be more healthy.

      ~Jessica

  7. Couldn’t comment on your newest post about birth control but I totally agree with your points, God bless!

  8. Hi Jessica! Just my thoughts…. I wear a mask when I am asked to like in church or a store.
    I do no get out to visit much but for example I dropped off a book to a friend and I made sure I put my mask on before I went in.
    My friend was very appreciative that I put my mask on. Sadly, I do feel like we were a bit disconnected though. Definitely an awkward visit.
    So for obeying our Maine state laws and visiting people indoors yes I’ll put on a mask unless they tell me I can take it off…. Which I am happy to oblige
    Otherwise I’m not sure of the effectiveness but franakly I’d rather not wear a mask and get sick. Perhaps with that I may be able to build my immunity system as I’m younger oppose to when I get older.
    I visited my allergist a month ago and I was in there an hour while he explained how masks are not good for us and how we need to build immunities while. On the contrary he said that a mask would help me during pollen season when I am outdoors.. LOL
    Oh, I have to mention it was neat to see in your picture we are wearing almost the same thing ha ha…I have my covering on which is similar to yours I got in Walmart except my bun is under my covering, the same New Creation gray skirt, and the same
    cable knit sweater except mine is in blue! 🙂
    Also I am almost done my closet I’ll have to email you the results!
    Your video was a huge help. I wrote everything down and took my time. I am so happy how it is turning out!
    Thanks for sharing your thoughts on masking and the cute bow that Giselle designed! Great job!

    1. It seems we think similarly about the mask issue, Rosemarie. Thanks for adding your thoughts!

      How interesting that your allergist doesn’t think the masks are effective (except during pollen season, ha, ha). That just confirms what I’ve been hearing from other sources, as well.

      I smiled when I heard that you were wearing almost the same thing as I was in the photo. How funny! I tried putting my bun under the headcovering (which is from Walmart, you guessed right), but when I put the ear-saver bow on top, it tugged the headcovering down, so I decided to keep the headcovering bunched up over the top of the bun, instead. Otherwise, I think it’s prettier to keep all the hair covered.

      Can’t wait to hear how your closet organizing goes!
      ~Jessica

  9. I know this post is older, but I’m so grateful to the Lord that we’re in a much better place going into 2024 than we were when this blog post was written. I stopped wearing masks in 2022, when most public spaces stopped requiring them. Like you, I did wear them when required or requested out of respect for others. I believe that is what the Lord would have us do. With that said, I’m so relieved it’s no longer taboo to not wear one. In fact, even where I live (Atlanta suburbs) it’s rare to see someone masked up in public these days. I’m hard of hearing and oftentimes rely on reading lips. Communication was very difficult for me during the masked period of the pandemic.
    I’m really enjoying your blog. It’s very much a blessing!

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