Giggles at the Grocery Store

Hello everyone.  I apologize that it has been so long since my last post on this page.  A few days ago, I remembered a funny little incident from my childhood, so I thought I would share.  

When we were growing up, Todd and I seemed to get the giggles at the most inappropriate times.  That alone caused Mom and Dad a lot of frustration. 

One time when the whole family as at the grocery store together, Dad put some little dessert cakes in the cart.  John was only a few years old, maybe four or five.  He asked Dad what was in the box and Dad told him. 

For the next several minutes, John followed Dad and said over and over again, “Those are dessert cakes, huh Dad?  Yep, them sure are cakes alright.” 

Ordinarily that wouldn’t be so funny.  But John repeated the same thing every few seconds and he was speaking so loudly everyone in the store could hear him.  Well, if that wasn’t embarrassing enough for my parents, Todd and I thought the whole thing was funny.  We got our giggle box turned over and could not stop laughing. 

Finally Dad turned around and told all three of us we better be quiet.  He told John not to say anything else about the cakes and he scolded me and Todd for all our giggling.  Even knowing we were in trouble, it took a lot of restraint to settle down. 

The incident became one of our funny family stories. 

Sometimes we just need a good laugh, don’t we?  It is good to find humor in simple things.  I think the ability to laugh is one of God’s gifts to us. 

In Luke’s recording of the Beatitudes Jesus said, “Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled.  Blessed are you who weep now for you shall laugh.”  Luke 6:21

In Proverbs we find  “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”  Proverbs 17:22 

Another great verse on joy is Proverbs 15:13 which reads “A glad heart makes a cheerful face,  but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed.”

Here is one more:  “Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.” Proverbs 12:25

I like this last verse because it tells us we can give someone “a good word” and make them glad.  Isn’t it wonderful to think we can serve the Lord this way? 

Kids can say and do funny things that make us laugh.  Children love to play and laugh together.  It is totally natural.  It is the way God made them and us too. 

It still when I remember that night at the grocery store so long ago. 

Let us treasure the time we have with our families.  Today’s laughs become tomorrow’s precious memories!

Christ above all things - Robin