You never know what you might see in Wal-mart. Last week some early morning shoppers got an unexpected eyeful in the produce aisle, when a middle-aged woman reached for an avocado. It wasn’t the avocado drawing the crowd as much as the middle school-sized shorts she was wearing. As the woman stretched out to reach the ripe fruit, shoppers noticed on the back of her short shorts, 4" block letters spelling out MARGARITAVILLE. Thank you, Jimmy Buffet.
I was polite and relatively discreet, but sometimes you just have to laugh. It’s okay.
When you’re going through a difficult season, it can feel strange to laugh in the midst of pain. I remember how I felt after losing my mom. It had only been a few days since her sudden death, but when something funny happened I caught myself for a second wondering if it was okay to laugh. Or would I be perpetually sad, all day every day forever?
The answer, thankfully was absolutely NOT! Of course there were lots of tears; but eventually I realized how cleansing and energizing it was to laugh. Is there someone in your life who knows how to light up a room and make you smile? Do yourself a favor and hang out with them.
When you’re facing a tough season, you may want to designate some time each day think about and process the reality of what has happened. Instead of running from the pain, running to it can help in the journey through it. But never forget you will laugh again, hopefully sooner than later!
So, tomorrow at Wal-Mart when the bald headed deli manager walks up with a hairnet on… go ahead. Get your sliced turkey, but recognize some things are just funny. It’s okay to laugh.