You Just Gotta Laugh

Christians aren't usually known for their sense of humor. At least, I never knew of any that had one. Growing up Southern Baptist (sometimes), I saw mostly dour, pearl-necklaced ladies with white gloves who ate cucumber sandwiches and discussed their Lord and Savior with whispered reverence. Looking back, I realize that that these ladies seldom got more exercise than the flapping of their jowls as they whispered, with the same voice and tone used for Jesus Christ, the latest gossip of other church members and those sandwiches weren't very lo-cal. My memories are of pastel-colored, double-knit clad barrels with lipstick and rouge.

I have known for a very long time that God has a sense of humor (platypus, anyone?), and I found not so very long ago that there are Good Christian Women who enjoy the same. It's OK to laugh! It's OK to find things funny (just not at someone else's expense)! And you know what? It's perfectly fine to laugh loudest at yourself.

Our weekly phone call from Claire's therapist assumed we knew of an "incident" that occurred Sunday afternoon. Claire had apparently had it up-to-here on short jokes (heh - get it?) and gave the ultimatum, "I'm leaving if anyone makes one more joke about my height!" Of course, someone did, which put Claire into a huffy stomp from the dining hall. She spent the rest of the evening crying alone in her dorm room, a result of her self-imposed edict. By Tuesday, when we received our call from her, she had apparently worked through it enough that it wasn't even an issue she wanted to discuss with us.

Now, let me say, this child does not come from vertical stock. When her dad and I got married, we didn't walk down the aisle as much as we followed the yellow brick road. We are not tall people. I learned the best defense was to beat people to the joke ("You must be 'this' tall to own and operate The UPS Store"), and I find it makes most people grin just a little.

So, how does this even come close to tying into this week's lesson? I prayed for an answer, and here's what I got.

• Step One - I can't. I am human and fallible.
• Step Two - God can. Without Him, I can do nothing and nothing I do matters.

Only God can change my stature, and I'm pretty certain that He made me this height for a very good reason. But God and I together can change my weight and my outlook.

Look at the Stepping Stones chart on page 30. It relates to how "pouting puts pounds on." Check out the list on the right - the "What God Says to Me" verses. Can you see reason for joy? Reason to laugh? Yeah, me, too!

So laugh - find things to laugh about (like the image of Johnny Depp swooning at a Justin Beiber concert and claiming to the world that he is a "Beleiber"). We are surrounded by God's humor! Laughter chases away depression. It works out those abs, too!

I'll be posting the chapter summary later this week - hope you are all well and enjoying your time with God!

BTW: this blog is entirely different than I intended when I started it and saved the draft this morning. He is amazing, isn't He? (Maybe the original idea will pop up some other time - it really is a funny story....)