The Fun In Funny

The Fun in Funny

A cheerful heart is good medicine.

Proverbs 17:22

It had been a stressful day. Len dropped into his easy chair and retreated behind the newspaper. After unwinding with the funnies and the sports, he would be ready to enjoy the family at dinner.

Sara had a different idea. In eager anticipation, our five-year-old niece asked her uncle to take her for a “horsey ride.”

Len kindly requested that she wait until after dinner. She willingly accepted postponed gratification and began rocking her teddy bear for a few minutes. Soon Sara approached him with increasing fervor. “Uncle Len, p l e e e a s e take me for a horsey ride.”

“Let me rest a little longer.” So she rocked Teddy a few more times.

The third time she approached him, Sara pulled down the newspaper. In an authoritative voice, she insisted, “Uncle Len, you have to have fun whether you like it or not!”

So he got down on his hands and knees and took her for a bumpy ride. (Why bumpy? Have you ever tried crawling on your hands and knees while laughing?)

As I laughed from the kitchen, biblical illustrations came to mind. I thought of the story in Luke 11:5-13, in which the neighbor demanded that his tired friend give him some bread.

A cheerful heart had transformed a tired uncle into a willing and energetic stallion. I wonder how many of my childish requests my Father finds humorous. I do know he answers prayers and enjoys blessing his children.

—Barbara Ferguson

Father, thank you for teaching me so many things about my relationship with you through experiences of children. Thank you for your patience and your encouragement to share my concerns with you, especially when I become impatient. Thank you for your many blessings, including the blessing of humor to neutralize stress. I love you, Father, and enjoy being with you, even in my childish way. Amen.