“Blessed is he who has learned to laugh at himself, for he shall never cease to be entertained.” (John Powell)

As we’re told in the Bible in the book of Ecclesiastes, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: A time to weep and a time to laugh.” We thought with the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season underway, sharing a time of laughter with each other might be a good thing to do this week.

So, we want to share with you a chapter from the book Chocolate Chili Pepper Love -by Becky Freeman (Harvest House Publishers). We’re hoping you find it at least mildly amusing to add a smile to your face—after all, as the Bible says, “Laughter is good medicine.” The chapter’s entitled “Funny Girl, Patient Guy.” It reads:

“Scott once said he’d love to call a Men-Only meeting with husbands of right-brained humor writers. Among the invited would be at least three Bills: Bill Bombeck (of the late Erma fame), Bill Johnson (of the lively Barbara “Geranium-in-Your-Hat” renown), and Bill Higgs (head of the Liz Curtis Higgs “One-Size-Fits-All” Household).

The first thing Scott would most likely say, once he had them cornered, is, “Okay, guys—shoot it to me straight: Have you figured out why the world finds our wives so funny?” For, unless I miss my guess, most of my sisters-in-humor are married to men who don’t exactly fall over laughing at the sight of, say, the kids’ box turtle snuggled inside their best dress shoe.

I tell a story on myself about the time I couldn’t figure out why the old tin shower in our cabin wouldn’t drain. Every time I jumped in to take a shower, the water would fill up and eventually overflow onto the bathroom floor. Weary of my complaining, my husband agreed to observe my dilemma. For strangely enough, I was the only one who seemed to have this problem. So I got in the shower, I turned the spigots, and halfway through my scrub down, sure enough, the water was lapping up and over the rim. I heard Scott muttering. Poking his head through the curtain, he peered at my feet incredulously.

“Becky,” Scott asked, “how long have you been standing on the drain?” When I realized I’d been stopping up the shower for weeks with my own feet, I couldn’t wait to phone my best friend and share the laugh. This, too, puzzled my husband. He scratched his head and asked sincerely, “Why would you want to admit-to ANYONE—such ignorance on your part?” “Because,” I tried in vain to explain between chuckles, “It’s SO FUNNY.”

Without a doubt, the story I’m most often asked to share with audiences is dubbed The Lawn Mower Story.

One lovely spring afternoon, Scott asked me to tow him on his riding mower about a mile down the road so he could cut a neighbor’s grass. After attaching the mower to the Titanic (my pet name for our station wagon), Scott mounted it, and I carefully began to pull him down the bumpy, oil-topped road.

It was a lovely day, and the wildflowers were just coming into bloom. I was delighted to see how many varieties there were. Before I realized it, my foot had settled into a comfortable forty-miles-per-hour position on the accelerator. When I happened to glance in the rear-view mirror, I saw Scott’s elbows flapping up and down like an injured bird in takeoff: I saw 6 inches of daylight between his posterior and the seat of the tractor and his mouth wide open in a silent scream.

Now, I shouldn’t have laughed, because. well. I probably could have killed him. But I couldn’t help it-he looked SO FUNNY. When I slowed to a stop and Scott dismounted the tractor I could tell by the look on his face he probably didn’t see as much humor in the incident as I’d seen. As a matter of fact, all Scott could manage to do was hold his head in his hands and mumble, “Beck-y, Beck-y, Beck-y, Beck-y.”

Whatever natural sense of humor my husband may lack, he more than makes up for it by being a royal good sport. Once he realized I could actually increase the family income by telling the world about all the embarrassing, forgetful and inane things I do, he began to smile a lot more. He’s still amazed how God uses “peculiar people” (like his wife) to bring the message of God’s love, wrapped up in a tortilla of laughter, to others.

And though Scott will probably never get as ticked as I do when I flub up, I hope he—along with Erma’s, Liz’s and Barbara’s Bills—gets an award in heaven, for the special patience it takes to live with a woman who makes a living and/or ministry out of making messes. “Some of our women amazed us” (Luke 24:22).

In closing, for this holiday season (and throughout the year) don’t forget to:• INFUSE HUMOR into your life. It is the best medicine to help you face each day.

• Keep in mind in mind that “Humor is usually the first thing that goes to the wayside when you live in the fast lane.”

• Find ways to cut back on that which keeps you so busy that you can’t enjoy this season with those you love the most.

• Ask God to help you to recognize that which should either be delayed or dismissed from doing.

• Keep in mind: If you’re too busy to be kind, you’re too busy.

• Don’t sweat the small stuff—it’s mostly all small stuff that we contend with each day.

• Take the time—MAKE the time to worship Christ. After all, He’s the reason for this season in the first place!

Our love and prayers are with you each day as together we work to make our marriages ones that reflect the love of God-not only during Christmas, but throughout the year.

Steve and Cindy Wright

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