OUT TO PASTOR: Have giggle, will laugh

I have many problems in my life. I have yet to recognize all of my problems, but I’m sure I will soon.

That’s why it’s so great to be married to someone like The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. There is no problem she cannot fix, and I have many examples to prove it.

There is one problem she hasn’t been able to fix. That is, I laugh too much. At least, according to her.

If something happens or someone says something, I will start to giggle, and I know that in a short time, I will be laughing. I know how to laugh better than anybody I know. Just ask The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage.

Through the years, I have tried to moderate it. I don’t want to laugh at everything even though there is a giggle inside of me. Most people don’t think everything is funny, while I, on the other side, can’t think of anything that isn’t funny.

Someone may tell me something or say something unwittingly, and I begin to giggle. I know when that starts I have no control over my giggle-itis. The only cure I have found for giggle-itis is laughter.

Someone may be telling a very serious story about their life, and I hear it wrong and think they are saying something altogether different. It wouldn’t be so bad if I could control it when it happens, but as history has proven, I cannot.

I do try to keep some things serious. I must confess, however, that changes from day to day. What is serious today may not be serious tomorrow, and I am the last one to know how to control that.

I’ve often discussed this with The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage, and she has tried to counsel me in this area on how to control my laughter.

I try to explain to her that it is not so much the laughter as it is the giggle. If I could control my giggles, I wouldn’t have any problem with laughter. She doesn’t get it and laughs at me.

You must agree, there are many things in this world that are funny. And I do not believe we should overlook or ignore those situations.

Last week I was standing in line at the post office, and at the counter was a very nice older lady. She was paying for some postage and gave the cashier a $50 bill. Then the cashier, preparing to give her money back, said something strange. He said, “Ma’am, what denomination would you like?”

I hadn’t heard that in a long time and was anxious to hear how the lady would respond.

She looked at the cashier with a very serious look and said, “Sir, I’m a Baptist, so give it to me in Baptist denomination.”

Little did I know she was not joking, but I laughed at her, trying to conceal it.

The cashier stared at her, not knowing what to do. I’m not sure what money he gave her because I was laughing too much on the inside.

It’s so hard for me to laugh on the inside and keep it from getting on the outside. What is inside eventually comes outside. I was laughing about that for the rest of the day. And still, when I think of it, I chuckle on the inside.

Just the other day, The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage came and informed me that she would be gone for the day, thrift store shopping with her daughters. Looking at me, she seriously said, “Can you get your own lunch today while I’m gone?”

That tripped the giggle button inside for some reason, and my giggle-itis had kicked in.

Looking at her while giggling, I said, “Don’t worry. I’ll clean the refrigerator out by the time you get home.”

Then I started laughing almost uncontrollably. She, on the other hand, looked at me with her infamous scowl and said, without laughing, “I don’t think so.”

I could not stop laughing as she walked out the front door. Several hours later, I was still laughing, and went and looked in the refrigerator to see how much work I had on hand.

When I opened the refrigerator door, I immediately stopped laughing. There at the front was a bowl of broccoli. I know she did that on purpose, and it cured my giggle-itis for a moment. I had to devise a plan for that broccoli to make me laugh and her scowl. Now the giggle-itis is beginning to turn on.

I think a bowl of Apple Fritters would be an excellent replacement. This is one of the few items that will make the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage scowl. To see that scowl will be worth all I can offer at this time.

Just the thought of that began a giggle inside of me. Thinking more of this it developed into laughter. I just can’t wait to get even.

While I was laughing, I thought of one my favorite Bible verses. “All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast” (Proverbs 15:15.

When I think of broccoli I have evil feelings, but the Apple Fritter thought brings a lot of merriment to me.

Dr. James L. Snyder lives in Ocala, FL with the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. Telephone is (352) 216-3025, e-mail is jamessnyder51@gmail.com, and website is www.jamessnyderministries.com.