Ruthie and I were super excited to be headed back to church for the first time in months. We started wondering what it would be like. We were talking about how many people would show up, and if people would be nervous. Wait, would everyone be in masks? How would that work?

Then we were asked to be greeters on the first day back. During that conversation, We were told that we would need to be wearing masks to be sure everyone felt safe and comfortable, but the question started drilling into my mind, “How welcoming would the church feel if you couldn’t see anyone smile”?I wrote down on my notes, *Invent a See Through Mask*. Yes, stars and all.

I went home and started talking it over with Ruthie, and started to sketch it out.  It would need to show a smile from a mile away. It would be important to see the smile, even from the sides. We made the first prototype out if tape.

We are now on Prototype 7, but the overall design has remained the same. We love it, and we are happy to spread cheer wherever we go. In fact, having the mask on reminds us to keep smiling everywhere we can be seen. We have developed a little bit of a “perma-smile” at this point…just like on our wedding day.