A Blessing (In Disguise)

An Unpleasant Surprise

A funny thing happened to me at Steubystl.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to tell jokes, joke around, and mess with my friends. And my friends like to do the same with me.

Well, I was working in the social media booth (that’s me on the far right in the picture above). It was Friday night, before the doors had opened, and I was “in the zone”. Have you ever been in the zone? Do you, like me, hate to be distracted when you are in the zone? I know, right?

As you can see in the picture, our workstation was underneath a balcony. And as I was working, I suddenly felt water on me. So I automatically assumed, of course, that one of my friends was being annoying, playing a practical joke, and pouring water on me from above. So, I unthinkingly blurted out, “Whoever did that, that is disgusting!”

Moments later, I discovered that what I had felt was not one of my friends being annoying. It was not a practical joke. It was not disgusting. It was, rather, my good friend Fr. Brian Fischer. He had been in the process of blessing the entire arena with holy water, and he had graciously sprinkled some in my general direction.

Blessing in Disguise

Naturally, I felt stupid and embarrassed. And of course, my coworkers on the social media team just laughed at me for my impulsive comment. And so did Fr. Fischer. And so did I.

I feel compelled to share this story with you not only because it is embarrassing and funny, but because it contains a lesson.

What I thought was disgusting…was in fact a blessing.

Have you ever had something happen to you that you thought was disgusting, annoying, or a distraction – only to find out later that it was actually a blessing in disguise? I think it happens all the time.

It has happened to me recently with some family struggles. We’ve had some financial difficulties, yet have seen how God provides. We’ve had some relationship struggles, but they have brought us closer together; closer, in fact, than we have ever been. We have faced some evil things, but have tried to respond prayerfully with grace. And we can see that God has helped us. Though none of us are perfect, and life certainly isn’t fair, God is with us. As He always is. And He is always good.

In Psalm 22 we are told, “Only goodness and kindness will follow me all the days of my life.” A friend once astutely told me, “If you are being followed, you can only see it when you look behind you.” Often, we don’t realize that something was a blessing until we look back at it with the eyes of faith. But with the eyes of faith we can see the reality of that beautiful verse, Romans 8:28, which says, “All things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”

Sometimes what distracts us isn’t evil, it’s just distracting, like my situation at Steubystl with the holy water. But as a man named Henri Nouwen once said, “My whole life I have been complaining that my work was constantly interrupted, until I discovered the interruptions were my work.” Reflect on that gem for a while…

In conclusion, I’ll ask you again. Have you ever had something happened that you thought was disgusting, annoying, or a distraction – only to find out that it was a actually a blessing in disguise?