Let It Shine
During grad school, I was the music director at a small church in a rainy town called Manoa.
One Wednesday, I walked from the university and rested in the chapel before choir rehearsal. I had just taken out my cards to practice when one of the older choir members popped in to “talk story.” We chatted for a minute, and I showed her one of the routines I was practicing. She laughed with surprise and said, “I just don’t understand…why anyone would want to do that!”
Why indeed!
A year ago, I almost quit entertaining and magic. I also wondered, “why would anyone ever want to do that?” No matter how many years you’ve been at it, you will mess up sometimes. You’ll have bad crowds, stingy clients, and noisy venues. And yet, the process of getting up there, again and again, is the only way to grow. Why would anyone want to subject themselves to that?
A few weeks ago, I was in Spokane for an unusual gig. Each year, Whitworth University hosts an event for newly accepted high school seniors to familiarize them with the campus and, hopefully, choose Whitworth. In collaboration with the Admission Department, my show was the final event of the weekend. The big prize of the evening was a full year of free room and board.
The lively crowd of two-hundred fifty high school seniors and their parents was one of the best audiences I have had in years. A young lady won the free room and board at the end of the evening.
When I walked into the lobby of The Best Western that evening, all I could think about was getting my shoes off. A thin man with grey hair and jeans walked up to me with his wife and granddaughter. I recognized them from the continental breakfast line.
“We were just at your show. We loved the magic and were moved to tears by your stories. Our granddaughter was recently accepted to Whitworth, but we weren’t sure if we could afford it. This morning, We decided to ‘lay out a fleece’ before the Lord. We prayed and asked him to show us whether our granddaughter should attend Whitworth through the Bucs Bound event. She won the room and board at your show tonight. She’ll be a Whitworth Pirate next year!”
We were at the same hotel. Astonishing! Even more amazing was how a simple magic show/admissions department collaboration answered her family’s prayers and changed the course of this girl’s life. “Why would anyone ever want to be a part of that?” Who wouldn’t?
I used to selfishly worry about how entertaining made me feel. How is this serving me? How can I get better? How can I get more shows? How can I negotiate a higher rate? And don’t get me wrong, you have to think about those things in moderation to grow and make the work sustainable. But I was mostly thinking about myself.
As entertainers, we are servants to people who are anxious, struggling, and hurting (and that’s everyone). We cannot heal them, but we can bring an hour or so of light into their personal darkness. Do not underestimate that. We are there to serve them. We even endure those struggles unique to entertainers so that we can grow to serve better. In my experience, when we step out boldly with a servant’s attitude, amazing and unexpected things always happen.
There is a moment in the Scriptures where King David is so overwhelmed by God, that “he danced before the Lord with all his might.” In an act of undignified vulnerability, he explodes with joy before his kingdom. Like David, I believe many have witnessed the greatest light– a light that “shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
If you have, then dance.
Let it shine.