My dad was famous for telling jokes. Many of them were groaners, and all of them qualified for “Dad Joke” status. We laughed anyway, and when my middle sister didn’t get the joke until 3 days later, we laughed uproarously. He quoted poems or the Bible, told stories and jokes. Or sang snippets of songs. He loved getting a response from people.
My favorite was when he quoted “The Jabberwocky” from Alice in Wonderland. Even though most of the words were nonsensical, when he told it, it made sense. He put all kinds of suspense and action into it with his voice. No matter how many times I heard it, I hung on every word, filled with delight and laughter.
I’m good at laughing at jokes, but not so much at telling them. Laughter was a huge antidote to the stressors of my growing-up years and I wanted to continue it, but fell short. Since my sense of humor doesn’t match well with my husband’s dry sense of humor, laughter wasn’t as prevalent in the home and family we created. But it’s a huge win whenever I can make him laugh. Score!
It’s easier to achieve it when I’m around those who know how to stimulate (or instigate) laughter. Imagine my delight when I discovered God has a wonderful sense of humor. “In His presence is fullness of joy”; so why should this surprise me?
Inviting Holy Spirit into a mundane activity that I don’t especially enjoy makes it so much more fun. He tells the best jokes! He knows how to provoke laughter in me, but when I tell anyone else, it falls flat. You had to be there. He sometimes pokes at the ironies that surround me, or highlights contrasts in a funny way that makes me laugh.
One time, I asked God to teach me how to pray. I’d read books on prayer and intercession, I’d been in prayer groups, I had experience. But I wanted to go deeper and step into that connection, where I felt His heart and prayed that. Surprisingly, I laughed and laughed. For about twenty minutes. Who knew? I never read about this in any intercession book. But it brought a dramatic shift to my perspective on prayer—and God’s delight in laughter.
I have such fond memories of this gift of laughter I grew up with. Even now, when I’m around my sister Sue and make a certain hand gesture, we jump back to a time of uncontrollable laughter, and giggles erupt all over again.
When my dad passed a few years ago, out of his over 2500 books, I snagged a couple of his joke books. I never realized he had so many. It’s time I poked my nose into one of them to learn a few jokes instead of saving them as keepsakes only.
I might not be as gifted at story telling as my dad, but I can find ways to bless others with the gift of laughter. Now … where’s one of those joke books?
