A Milk Shake
"35 milk shake flavors" the ad promised. Yum! So, Mell and I drove to the curb-side service restaurant and placed an order. My choice was peanut butter and chocolate fudge. My taste buds were screaming for that delicious milkshake! Within minutes the server came with the order. There were empty tables outside, so we decided to leave the car and enjoy our meal in the bright sunshine.
While climbing out of the car, the shake slid out of my hand, bounced on my leg and hit the pavement with a splat. The contents of my peanut butter and chocolate fudge milkshake leaped out of the container onto my pants and shoes.
I was standing in a restaurant parking lot with milkshake drippings an inch thick on my pants spreading down to the top of my shoes. I'm not sure any of the peanut butter-chocolate fudge milkshake touched the pavement.
I'm not proud of what happened next. I yelled, took off my shoe and beat on the pavement. What? Yes, I was striking the pavement and yelling at my ice cream covered pants and shoes. Why? I have no idea. I eventually calmed down enough to go inside and clean up. The poor waitress offered to make me another milkshake but all I could say was, "Thank you, but no. I've lost my appetite."
I know this is embarrassing. But after calming down, I chose to laugh. A friend told me: "Learn to laugh at yourself. Don't take your circumstances so seriously." Sometimes, we need to laugh even if the joke is on us. Proverbs 17:22 teaches: "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."
I know what you’re thinking, “Being a minister is serious business!” True. I am exposed to the most sensitive and tragic moments. When there is illness, death, or a marital dispute, I listen and offer the comfort of God’s presence. But I have discovered something profound. God has a wonderful sense of humor, and we were created to laugh as well as cry. Jesus said in Luke 6:21. “God blesses you who weep now, for the time will come when you laugh with joy.”
This is what I've learned about laughter: Laughter can calm your fears and restore your hope. Laughter can ease your pain and strengthen your resolve. Laughter can turn arrogance into humility. I don't plan to order a peanut butter, chocolate fudge milkshake anytime soon but I do plan to tell this story to anyone who will listen and laugh. I think God would laugh too.
Prayer Challenge: Remember something embarrassing and laugh.