The Story of the Masquerade

A number of people have requested that I post pictures from our New Year’s Eve Masquerade. I was not inclined to do so because the event doesn’t particularly conjure fond memories for me. I am so much more inclined to share with others about things that I consider successful or at least that have enough positive elements that I can leave out the negative ones and still present a picture of success. In my mind, the much-anticipated Masquerade met neither qualification. While I could just post the pictures and say nothing of the story behind them, the Lord impressed upon my heart the necessity of communicating “the rest of the story” – because ultimately it is a proclamation of His sovereignty and faithfulness.

I have often marveled at God’s blessing upon my life, fully aware that I am neither faithful enough nor obedient enough to warrant such as a result of any doing of my own. God has graciously granted success in many endeavors and has helped (and continues to help!) me learn how to deal with the emotions and struggles that come as a result of such success. Now I can also thank Him for allowing me to experience a small taste of failure and learn how to rightfully deal with the corresponding emotions and struggles.

Kendra and I met last summer to discuss the possibility of holding a Masquerade for New Year’s Eve. We enlisted my Dad’s help, as well as the help of several other family members and friends, and began the preliminary stages of our planning for the Masquerade. In the months that followed, plans progressed smoothly and we were excited to see the Lord work out some of the details for the event. However, once we came down to the final preparations and the Masquerade itself, there were a number of things that did not go according to our plans:

1. The pastor of the church whose building we were renting for the evening forgot about our arrangement and agreed to hold a funeral service there the morning of New Year’s Eve. This prevented us from getting everything set up the day before like we had originally planned. We couldn’t start setting up the tables and additional décor until after the service and dinner – around 12:00 the day of the event.
2. We had more people decide to attend than we had planned for when we purchased all the supplies and had to make a last minute run to several stores to purchase additional tableware. The stores were crowded and our set-up time was quickly ticking away…
3. The catered meal arrived earlier than we had specified and we had to come up with a way to try to keep all of it hot until we were ready to serve it.
4. Once the meal began, we became aware that we had underestimated the amount of salad and pop that 90 people would eat and drink. We ran completely out of salad before a number of guests had gone through the serving line. Uncertainty over our supply of snacks for later in the evening led to another run to the grocery store to stock up on more pop and snacks.
5. As the dinner time concluded and we prepared to begin the Clue game (that my Dad spent many, many hours writing and preparing), a number of guests decided to leave, apparently having planned to attend other events that evening. This unexpectedly reduced the number of players on each team and caused the momentum to quickly spiral downward to a level from which we could not recover. Others began to make their exit as well until we were left with only about half of the original attendees. We quickly, albeit regretfully, decided to discontinue the game and move to plan B – impromptu skits and games. These went well enough, but the atmosphere of the Masquerade was definitely lost.

As much as many dear friends encouraged me and assured me that the evening was not a complete failure, the emotions I experienced after having invested much time and effort into the event only to see all of our plans and hopes so drastically altered by circumstances beyond our control convinced me otherwise. Throughout the evening, as one thing after another seemed to fall apart, I moved from enjoying the time to trying to “fix” problems so that others would enjoy themselves, to just surviving until it was over and attempting to portray a composed and cheerful demeanor while my insides were in intense turmoil.

Even in the midst of this disappointment, I was so blessed by the wonderful friends who not only stayed until the end of the party, but also stuck around to help with all the clean-up (and even said they had a good time :-) ). After we arrived home that night, I was also blessed by the time Dad and I were able to spend discussing the evening, how we felt about how things had gone and what we could learn from our experience.

Though this whole ordeal may seem trivial to many (and in the grand scheme of life and eternity, one failed party is, indeed, certainly a trivial matter), I could see how the Lord would use this to teach me important lessons to mold me more into the image of Christ and to prepare me to handle more significant such situations in the future. I was able to identify three distinct struggles that I faced as the result of my [perceived] failure (and that I imagine pertain likewise to any failure):

1. Wanting to give up and resolving never to put forth such effort again if the potential for similar failure is present.
2. Allowing my negative experience to turn my focus inward and affect my attitude toward life in general and toward the people around me.
3. Ignoring the cause(s) of the failure, becoming hardened by the experience, and attempting to move on without adequately dealing with the emotions or learning from it.

In response to these struggles, the Lord reminded me of the following promises and principles of His Word:

1. “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” (I Cor. 15:58) Everything I do in life ought to be done in service to the Lord. Thus, I can wholeheartedly invest my time and energy into all that I do, confident that it is not in vain. My decisions and plans should be directed by the Lord, not by my feelings.
2. “Two are better than one…For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow.” (Ecc. 4:9-10) The implication is that both have fallen, but one lifts up the other. Even when I fall, I want to be quick to look around and see how I can help up the other who has likewise fallen. I should always seek to be an encouragement and blessing to those around me.
3. “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” (I Pet. 5:6-7) It is pride that causes me to attempt to continue on in my own strength, without being honest before God. God is so tender and merciful in dealing with us, His children. We should take full advantage of such difficult situations to draw nigh to Him and receive the comfort and hope that only He can give.

I have such a human view of how success and failure are defined. Thankfully, God’s thoughts and ways are much higher than mine! And, in a sentence, here is what I must acknowledge: Somehow, God, in His Sovereignty, will receive greater glory because of the way things turned out than if they had all gone according to our carefully laid plans.

“But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more.

My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof.

I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only.

O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.

Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.

Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high, who hast done great things: O God, who is like unto thee!

Thou, which hast shewed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth.

Thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side.”

Psalm 71:14-21

(Masquerade pictures to follow in the next post.)