Need a good laugh? Just look in the mirror!

We all enjoy seeing the other fellow mess up and become the object of a good hearty laugh but it’s not always as easy to find the same amount of humor when we turn out to be the one providing the punch line. Bottom line: Life is way too short not to find the greatest source of a smile, that being one’s self! Unfortunately for me, I provide way too much material in this area and that’s what I am click clacking on the keyboard about on this Friday, May 22, 2009. Yesterday I locked myself out of the office when I went to unlock all the other shop buildings. This was at 6 a.m. and no one with a key gets here until 8 a.m. No one had arrived when this happened so I had very little choice but to try and make the best of it. I camped out in the shop office but everyone that came in wanted to know why I was there. I had a long laundry list of excuses but giving them out helped about as much as pouring gasoline on a raging fire. I was really happy that my nemesis Ole Roy was not at work but plenty of others were more than willing to fill in for him. Okay, so I am not 100% perfect all the time and in the end we all had a good laugh. I told them I would not be able to entertain them every single day but hoped they appreciated the unexpected gift.

Part of the joke initially was how I busily went about working on the shop computer as if nothing was wrong but everyone knew something was wrong because I am never in the shop office unless it’s for a specific reason. Finally, I blurted out the obvious and that gave everyone permission to join in the fun. Permission. Yeah, that’s what we all need, a standing permission slip that entitles us to laugh at ourselves and join in the fun when we are the reason for the laughter. I’ve not always been able to do this like I can today. Maybe it’s an age thing or maybe the incidents kept piling up until I had little choice. I have always been called a serious minded person and would most likely have to admit that for much of my life I no doubt took myself way too seriously. Good wholesome laughter is a gift from God and one we should cherish and insert as much as we can into our stressed out and busy days.

There’s a song by Mark Lowry that I really like. The song is entitled, “Jesus Laughing”. It is a testimony song about a boy growing up seeing a picture on the wall of Jesus with His head thrown back really having a big laugh. If we are not careful we can conjure up a wrong image of what our Savior was like when He was here on earth. We might see Him surrounded by stained glass and with a halo on His head and walking around with His hands always folded together in a sacred special way. While that may sound ridiculous to you, that in one way are another is the way many people envision our Lord. But He was 100% God and 100% man, therefore, I am convinced that He enjoyed people and no doubt shared a wonderful smile and many hearty laughs during His time here. Taking the time to laugh especially at one’s self will go a long way in helping each day be a little less tedious and as I have already proven it will certainly add to the enjoyment of others. Carry that thought with you as you embark on your Saturday and Lord’s Day Sunday and I will try to come up with another round of mind numbing meanderings for next week. Until then, may the Good Lord take a liking to you! Amen. …. More later.