Blessings through Disguise

    Last night I attended my 7 year old daughter’s dance recital.  She is part of a beginner studio that meets at the YMCA, and this was her second recital.  I must say that it’s as entertaining to watch the little ones do their own thing as it is the dancers show off their skills.  If you’ve ever attended a recital with kids who are in preschool and just a bit older, you know what I am talking about.
    My daughter’s class has been working hard all semester on one ballet piece, danced to “Singing in the Rain,” and one tap piece, danced to “Charlie Brown.”  Faithfully they have practiced, and we as parents (my wife really) purchased the things they’d need to be fully costumed – a rain coat, the right shoes, and a specific skirt.  Things were all set, so we thought, but the studio had a surprise for us in their tap piece.
    As the kids walked onto the stage, in the dark of course, we noticed that they had more on than just the outfits we had gotten for them, and though we knew something was different, we couldn’t see it until the lights finally came up.  Each one of them had black frames on their faces and on the bridge of the glasses was a bright white piece of tape.  When I asked my daughter about that afterward she said, “Well dad, we were supposed to be ‘nerdy.’”  We all smiled, and it really did add to the experience.
    Though it was a subtle addition, the “disguise” added a dimension to their dance that made it a little richer and special.  It transformed the faces of each child in a way that we could see them a little differently, as they lived into their character, and it was a joy to see how much they enjoyed taking that character on.
    As I thought about that experience, I thought about how often we humans put on “disguises,” sometimes physically, but more often emotionally, relationally, or even theologically.  Every day we have opportunities to mask our true thoughts and feelings, and almost always when reflecting upon the whole idea of masking things, it is seen as a negative.  And yet, it does not always have to be.
    When I was in seminary I was a member of a small group that met weekly to build each other up on our spiritual walk.  We had a covenant that we all committed to keeping, and each week we would “check in” with each other.  Amid the standard covenant responsibilities we added this one, “we will quietly perform at least one ‘random act of kindness’ each week.”
    I will admit that when we added that into our covenant I scratched my head.  I thought, “What does this have to do with spiritual living?”  I did get the whole concept of doing nice things for others, but the intention was to share an act of kindness without the person(s) knowing who did it.  How would that help spiritually?  I soon found out.
    Week after week we met, and quickly that became either the first or last part of the covenant reported on by each member of the group.  We either couldn’t wait to share or we wanted to save the best for last, because we found out that, in giving and bringing joy to others, especially without them knowing, we were blessed, and when we were blessed, we became a blessing for others.
    At times this was a difficult assignment, because it took some creative energy and prayer to figure out what one could do to brighten someone else’s day, but when we did follow through, it was a blessing.  In fact, our acts of kindness often spurred on a movement of others doing the same.
    I grew up in a family where we were encouraged to lay the cards out on the table.  I could talk to my parents about anything if I wanted to, even though I didn’t, and when we shared as a family we were encouraged to not put on the masks but simply be who we were.  As such, I avoid ‘playing games’ in relationships and try to be a straight shooter.    Because of this, there were times when I had a hard time with this covenant piece. 
   It encouraged a little finagling, and I had to get used to hiding somethings in order to bring joy.  The hiding, however, was worth it.  Many times putting on masks and disguising things can indeed be detrimental and unhealthy, but in this exercise, I discovered that if the disguising is done intentionally and with the intended result being a blessing, almost always God can use it in amazing ways.

    In the sixth chapter of Matthew, Jesus throws into the Sermon on the Mount these words. [Matthew 6: 2-4] “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.  But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
    Jesus was saying that in giving, sharing, and loving there can come great blessings through disguise.  That when we are willing to not take the credit and simply give, our time, talent, treasure, or ourselves out of love in humility, then it has a big impact.  It truly is a gift, and when the person has no idea that it is coming and/or from whom the gift is given, it is even more powerful.

    My daughter and her dance class surprised us with a silly pair of glasses, but we didn’t know it was coming.  The unexpected made an impact and changed the experience for us...for the better.  Theirs was a blessing through disguise.
    I wonder if God might be inviting you and me to provide more such blessings.  Hey, maybe I’ll pick up that tradition of my covenant group that we shared so many years ago.  It may be a blessing to someone else...it may be a blessing to me.

What can you do today to quietly bless the life of another?