Keeping a sense of humor

I took it for granted growing up. A sense of humor was encouraged and nurtured in our home.

Laughter has refreshed my heart often in the years since. And humor helps me endure. Persevere.  Through the mundane. And when the going gets tough.

Comics

The funny papers. That’s what we called them. Back in the day. When newspapers were in full swing and wide circulation. 

When I was young, my grandparents mailed packages to us in Indonesia. They often wrapped the contents with The Shreveport Times. Including the Sunday comics. 

My parents laughed as they shared them with each other.  So before I could read, I was taking a look at them too.

Deciding what was funny and what was not.

Cartoons

Dad is an amateur cartoonist himself. He has entertained us and others through the years with his drawings and captions.

Along the way, his appreciation for political cartoons influenced me. I still look for wit and humor on the editorial page. The clever political statement housed in one picture. 

Funny stories

Mom is the storyteller. We often lingered at the dinner table as she told us captivating and hilarious stories. From her childhood in Alabama.  

We wanted to hear them over and over. And encouraged her to tell them to the many guests who came through our home.  

Surely they would be as entertained as we were. 

By the story about the birds that ate fermented cherries from their gutters. Then fell off the roof. Drunk.  

Or the story about the bathroom in Uncle Wilbur’s house that had 5 doors. “Grandaddy always said that by the time you got all the doors closed, it was too late!” 

We laughed till we cried.

Crossing cultures with humor

Throughout those childhood years, I anticipated trips to the Siola department store in downtown Surabaya. 

One particular floor held treasures. Pens and paper. Notebooks. Art supplies. Enid Blyton books in English. 

And cartoon books by Asian artists.  We bought these and crossed cultures with humor in a second language.  

Speaking the language

 My husband and I moved our family from one culture to another during our 27 years overseas. 

One political climate to another. 

One religious atmosphere to another. 

Every culture we lived in had an innate sense of humor.  The clever turn of phrase. Local cartoonists. Funny stories. Things that made people laugh with each other. 

Their humor didn’t necessarily make sense to us at the time. But there were jokes in every language we studied. 

Humor helps

Each move, each place, each cross-cultural experience made one thing evident. Fairly quickly.

We needed to keep a sense of humor. 

When the stress of language learning or culture shock had us on our last leg, laughter eased the tension. Refreshed our spirits.  

When the electricity was off and the temperature inside our house soared over 100 degrees, humor helped. 

From childhood knock-knock jokes and language faux pas and family stories—to a variety of comic books and comedians.  Our family found ways to laugh.

At funny things and at ourselves. With friends and neighbors.

The Lord’s ministry of humor

And we laughed with the Lord. 

He ministers to me often through humor. Through curiously specific details in His Word. Catching me by surprise with a verse or phrase. He makes me smile.

I shared one of those times in another blogpost: Dust.

That time, I laughed out loud at what He revealed. During a difficult season. 

A joyful heart

Proverbs 17:22 says “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.” 

A sense of humor eases the journey. 

Laughter refreshes and heals. 

Keep laughing!

What about you?

What makes you laugh? Where did your sense of humor get fine-tuned?

related posts

Dust – On the way to thankfulness – The beginning of wisdom – Thanksgiving – Skipping truth – Be strong and courageous – Travelers – Sarah and faith – Where is home? – Missing beauty –