Ecclesiastes 3:4 “There is a time for everything… a time to weep and a time to laugh.”
It was probably malaria. Before dawn, after umpteen hot and cold sweats, and regular dashes to the lavatory, I got ready to go to the doctor. Not only was there no electricity, but the water had been cut off temporarily. I fumbled around barefoot in the dark, and didn’t see a glass bottle left on the ground the night before. So I accidentally kicked it, and it shattered, spraying glass shards across the bathroom floor. In my feeble, dazed state, I prepared a stool sample. But to my horror I discovered I hadn’t taken the lid off the container, and faeces were everywhere, including all over my hands. So there in the dark I swayed, disorientated and feeble, barefoot amidst the broken glass, hands covered in mess, and no water to wash it off with!
Laugh or cry? I think I did both that time!
One thing I’ve learnt living in a war zone is that having a sense of humour is a life-saver. There are plenty of times to weep in life, so make sure you have some laughs as well. Jesus wept, and I have no doubt he laughed a lot too. Maybe one of the unstated reasons he liked children so much was because they laugh, according to statistics, six times as much as adults. We’re far too serious far too much of the time…
Why did I ask Lizzie Corfe to marry me back in 2003? Not just because she’s a holy honey, but because she makes me laugh. And vice versa. When we first met, I cracked a joke and she laughed through her nose and snotted across the table at me – that’s when I knew she was the one!
Do you laugh much? Can you laugh at your own expense? If you want to laugh at mine, as thousands have done so already, go on Youtube and type in ‘dstrausspics hilarious bike crash’!
Lord, thanks for the gift of laughter. Amen!
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