Joking with someone can be a true gift, but depending on how the humor is delivered, it can also be hurtful.  On one hand, medicine for the soul, and yet, such a fine line based on how the joke is interpreted.

Humor is a huge priority in my life and often a beautiful coping mechanism.  Allowing myself to laugh at my mistakes, mishaps, or misfortunes is one way that I see light rather than dwell in the darkness.  

The important part of that statement is MY mistakes, mishaps, and misfortunes.  Much of my day is spent laughing to myself about crazy things I do.  I have plenty of material to keep myself and others entertained.

Recently, I was removing a popcorn ceiling treatment.  I had just finished the removal process and was starting the cleanup.  After ineffectively using my vacuum, I remembered that this would be a good utilization of the wet/dry vacuum.  

I did have enough sense to see if there was a button that switched the vacuum from wet to dry.  With no success, I turned on the vacuum and proceeded to efficiently clean the floor.   

I was about halfway through when I turned around to an entire cloud of white covering my entire family room, kitchen, dining room, etc.  Everything that I had vacuumed up was coming out of the exhaust of the wet vacuum.  I had neglected to realize the filter was not on the vacuum.  

After a few seconds of pure disbelief, I moved into my normal routine.  “Come, Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus, where do I go from here? Thank you for showing me how to tackle this project.”  

A smile comes over my face, and I start to laugh. Nobody’s even around.  I turned in disbelief, looking at the disaster, feeling a bit like this moment is an episode of I Love Lucy.  I had the choice to be angry at my stupidity or to laugh at my mishap.  

Three hours later, most of my house was sparkling clean.  Yet the wood floors were still lacking their shine. My mishap had encouraged me to thoroughly clean and restore my wood floors.  Allowing myself to laugh at the situation resulted in not only an improved ceiling but a clean house and a restored floor.

I do my best to look at all of life’s daily mishaps from a perspective of good humor and allow myself to joke about my daily life.  When I am with others needing encouragement, I find strength in using good humor to reduce any unnecessary stress and worry. 

Most importantly, I always want to make sure my humor shines light on the situation.  That any joking that comes from me is either about me or is delivered in a way that is helpful and not hurtful. 

I would hope that my humor never makes anyone question, “Are you joking?”

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