A Twisted Funny Bone

   A sense of humor is a gift.  The ability to laugh at oneself is a treasure.  Sometimes it's something that doesn't come naturally and one has to make the choice to see the silver lining.
   I am one such person that has to work at seeing the humor of certain situations; such as when I make an ox of myself in public.  I'm getting better at laughing at myself and letting it go.  I'm not completely there yet, but I'm choosing to remember that, while those around me think I may have lost my mind, Jesus still thinks I'm precious.
   My sense of humor is unique.  I sometimes, and I'm not proud of this, laugh when people get hurt.  I know!  It's terrible, but my relief that they are all right takes the outlet of laughter.
   I will never forget rolling on the grass laughing at my niece after she had fallen down the front porch steps.  When you write it out like that it sounds so... harsh and terrible, but she looked so funny tumbling down the steps and I was so relieved that she wasn't hurt.  (Relax it was only 3 steps!)
   When my husband and I were dating, he was driving the four-wheeler at a decent rate of speed and talking to me on the cell phone. He suddenly went, "Ooooomph".
   "What happened?" I asked.
   "A bug hit me in the eye."  He replied.
   "Are you Ok?" I questioned, trying to swallow a laugh.
   In a strained and somewhat pained voice, "Yeah, I'm just trying to get the guts out of my eye."
   At this point I lost it.  Yes, I know, I have a warped sense of humor.  Even now as I write this, I am sitting here giggling!  I can remember the tone of his voice and the way he said it.
   Seriously though, I'm not a nasty person that likes to see people get hurt.  When there's a lot of blood or broken bones, that doesn't strike my funny bone.  That's serious and I'm usually busy trying to stay calm.
   When I was 18, I moved from my home state to a neighboring state.  I was amazed and still am at the difference that there is in people and their sense of humor.  It's funny (no pun intended)...(ok, so maybe a little pun was intended) how people who have grown up together just seem to understand each other.
   Being a transplant was/is kind of difficult.  It used to bother me a great deal that some people just don't seem to "get" my sense of humor.  I don't seem to be able to understand their sense of humor either.  Some tend to take me seriously when I'm just teasing.  I take them seriously when they were just joking.  At home this wasn't really an issue.  I had spent nearly my whole life with my school family and they just knew me.  All the bad and the good, they accepted me just as I accepted them.
   My sense of humor, as I stated before, is a tad twisted.  Sometimes I grouse about things intending to get a laugh.  This doesn't go over well in some circles.  At home my family would be laughing at me and egging me on.  My sister has a similar sense of humor as do my nieces.  We get together and have a glorious time sparring.  My one niece is a true piece of work!  She is SO much fun to pick on!  The first time my husband heard us going at it, he was appalled and took me aside to give me a talking to.  I told him that it's just how we are.  Over the years, he has now taken to picking on me in a similar way because, "it's so much fun to see you get all bothered."  (Can you tell the man loves me?)
   Anyway, I used to think that there was something deeply wrong with me because I just couldn't seem to "get" the sense of humor of some around me.  As I get older, I'm able to let it go.  I know what I meant, and trying to figure out what others are thinking is completely pointless and only gives me a gut ache.  I have decided to thank God for the sense of humor He has blessed me with and continue laughing!  It's such a blessing to be able to see humor in situations that would otherwise make one cry.  I'm not completely able to do that, but God is bringing me to a place of gratitude, and there I find laughter!  May God bring you, my friend, to that place where joy abounds!
 
 

My Little Backseat Conscience

   My little backseat conscience stands about 41 inches tall (give or take a few), has curly brown hair, and big beautiful blue eyes.  She is usually dead on and painfully honest (sometimes very loudly in public) with her opinion of the situation at hand.  She can be depended on to give a nudge, sometimes not so gently, when she thinks I'm getting out of line.  And she's all of 3 years old!
   I will admit to harboring a bit of road rage (just a little bit).  I also possess a lead foot on occasion.  I dislike when people turn out in front of me and then putter along.  GO PEOPLE!  You can at least move at the rate of the posted speed limit!
  If I happen to mutter (or yell) at someone in front of me to get a move on, and if I just happen to add a word I shouldn't like, "bozo" or "ding-dong", my conscience will invariably pipe up from the back seat with an opinion.  "Mommy, you should not say that.  That's not kind."
   Ouch!  She's right.  I apologize and agree with her.  I tell myself that I'm going to do better next time and that it doesn't really matter that we are moving at the "rapid" pace of 45 mph in a 60 mph zone and that we are late.  Good grief, what kind of example am I being anyway?
   Or if I maybe call her Daddy a "dough-ball", she is quick to point out that her Daddy is "NOT a 'do-ball' and he is very precious.  You should not say that Mommy, we love our Daddy!"  (To try to redeem myself, I did teach her to compliment her Daddy with the handsome bit, I'm not totally a bad influence.)
   Sometimes us Mommies get busy and we see things happening that shouldn't and instead of stopping and taking the time to sort things out properly, we make hasty decisions and do things we shouldn't.  Like yanking a toy away from the offender and stuffing it into grasp of a crying child, all the while chewing out the offender for grabbing it away in the first place.  Hmmm, might have to work on that one.  "Mommy, that's rude."  You know what?  She's right, but I tend to justify it because I'm the Mommy.  Nope, that excuse doesn't fly with them, they can see right through it.
   Now, there are occasions where a Mommy has the right to exercise her God given authority, but sometimes I find myself doing it far too hastily with bad results.
   She's good for me.  At the very least she makes me laugh and rethink my actions and words.  Sometimes I'm scared to death to talk to her about why some things are wrong because I don't want to sound too legalistic and put a "must not because I said so and God is displeased with you" instead of an "obedience out of love" spin on things.  I want so badly to take her hand and lead her to the foot of God's throne and rejoice as she decides to serve Him.  I know that it's a long path and that my actions and responses are critical.  Yet, even knowing that, I still get lazy and careless.  I'm glad that God offers help and second chances.  I'm glad that little people by their nature are very forgiving.
   She has taught me a lot about myself.  I'm selfish and she has brought that to the surface and shown me that I need to take care of it at Christs' cross.  She has shown me what love is.  I think I have a better idea of how much God loves us because of my love for her.
    She is a joy to have in our home and I'm so blessed that God saw fit to trust us with her care. It's a privilege and an honor to be her Mommy. Even if she tells me that I'm not as good as Daddy at tucking her in!
   I'm glad that God has entrusted her to me.  I'm not a perfect parent, some days I can even be a lousy parent.  But He gave her and her little sister to us, and whenever I look into their little faces, I realize anew the trust that they have in me.  I am overwhelmed with the awesome responsibility I have to teach her about our Savior!  What a privilege and a joy, but how hard it can be sometimes!
   It makes me want to draw closer to my Heavenly Father and allow Him to teach me how to be a parent.  He's the only perfect parent and I have a lot to learn!  I'm so glad that as a mother I have the promise of Isaiah 40: 11.

"He will lead His flock like a shepherd;

He will gather the lambs with His arm,

and carry them in His bosom,

and gently lead those who are with young."

   God promises to lead me gently along as I dive into this unknown thing called motherhood.  Just knowing that He will take my hand and lead me is huge!  What a relief to be able to go to Him and ask questions and beg for help!  I honestly don't know how those without a relationship with Christ do it.  I am so thankful for Him!

   I often tell her that I'm glad that God picked her to be my little girl.  She just smiles and snuggles closer.  She doesn't know the depth and meaning of those words, but I do.  Every night I tell her that she is precious to me and that I love her.  I'm not sure she knows just how precious she is to me or just how much I love her, but I hope that someday she can grasp it.

   It is so refreshing to be around little people who have no ulterior motives and who are completely innocent.  I hope that she will always retain her innocence and guilelessness, but I know that life will probably change that.  I appreciate her tender conscience and it's a good reminder to me to look at things through the eyes of innocence and remember that the example I show will likely be the example that she emulates.  Sobering, but  also exciting!  With God's help, I'm praying that we'll both turn out well!