Fun Friday - Learning to laugh at yourself

It wasn’t funny during our wedding ceremony, when my husband started holding a conversation with me. Soft music was playing as we lit our unity candles, then my husband started asking me questions. I don’t remember exactly what he was saying. However, I do remember responding to him through clenched teeth telling him to, “Stop talking.”

Flash forward sixteen years and I experienced another episode while standing at the front of a church sanctuary. You know the saying, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree?” Well, this time it was my son who was talking to me while all eyes were on us.

On this particular day, Sunday school teachers and youth were asked to lead the devotion period. We were to recite the weekly scripture and sing a couple of songs. A few of the kids stared into space and my son carried out his version of lip syncing.

Although I was holding the hymn book, my son continued to lip sync AND find time to hold a conversation with me.

“Look at ‘John’ he’s not even trying to sing,” my son whispered.

Between belting out words, I whispered back to him “Stop talking and sing.”

We made it through two songs, then it was time to recite the scripture.

“Sis Verges, could you come over and lead the scripture?” one of the teachers asked.

I froze for a few seconds, then made my way over to the microphone in slow motion. I didn’t know the whole scripture. I started strong, “But they that wait upon the Lord…mumble, mumble, mumble.” I went into lip sync mode, just like my son and moved my lips with minimal sound coming out. It was over and we all returned to our seats.

These two situations occurred more than a decade apart, but they both taught me the same lesson. I learned to laugh at myself.

What situation have you encountered where you had to laugh after a challenging situation?