… and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving. Psalm 28:7

Yesterday afternoon my husband and I were driving home from Boise and as we headed up Horseshoe Bend Hill from the south, there on the side of the road tucked up against the hillside was a guy playing the drums. Now I am not talking about a New Agey little tribal drum, but a full set of percussions . As in rock band. Or modern worship team. The guy was pounding away at full speed all by himself on that hillside. What in the world was that? And what is the back story that led to him being there? My imagination ran wild.

Now granted driving at 60 miles per hour, we were past him in a flash, but the moment was so humorous, we got the giggles. Dan is blessed with a big infectious laugh that won’t quit as we imagined all kinds of scenarios. I’m not sure what was funnier, Drummer or husband, but It was better than most things posted on You Tube!

God created our hearts for joy. We’re created in His image and likeness and therefore if we have joy it is because God is joyful. One of the components of joy is a sense of humor. He gave us a funny bone to be tickled at unexpected moments, like yesterday’s incident. And who could doubt that God has a sense of humor? As some wag has pointed out, just look at the platypus. (Or perhaps yourself when no one else is looking on and you’re singing a cappella).

English has lots of lovely words for what is humorous: funny, droll, ironic, amusing, mirth, witty, comical, quirky, absurd, ludicrous, We can add hysterical, weird, bizarre and the ever handy superlatives “so” and “too”. “That was too funny. He’s so amusing!” And of course, we laugh. We’re meant to laugh at circumstances and at ourselves. It lightens the burdens we carry and gives us a healthy dose of humility so we don’t take ourselves so seriously all the time. If we can find healthy humor in our lives, I think we loosen the grip of the world and are more apt to see God’s hand working in it. A sense of humor balances the ridiculous and the sublime, so to speak.

Sadly, humor is one more thing that the enemy has hijacked. I won’t go into all the things that political correctness has forbidden to be funny, but it is impossible to ignore that funny is no longer funny. Comedians make me cringe, not grin. Smutty innuendo has replaced subtlety. Vileness and blatant sexual coarseness is the standard material of comedy routines and it is getting worse by the hour. Whatever has happened to clever word plays, puns or amusing stories? Where are the gifted writers like Mark Twain or Charles Dickens who could skewer society with wit and wisdom, but without killing anyone’s soul? I wonder if any of the late night comedians – and their ilk – would think the drum- playing musician on Horseshoe Bend Hill was funny? I rather doubt it. It is not in their corrupted script. There are no platypuses in public humor anymore.

Dan and I were very blessed by Drummer Guy. He gave us the best gift – a good laugh. I hope he blessed all the other persons in their cars doing double takes as they passed by. I wonder how often his story is being relayed today to friends and family. “Hey, You wouldn’t believe what I saw. I wish you were there to see this guy. It was sooooo funny!”

In the days ahead we may need to foster a sense of humor and not despair. God who is our true joy has given us strength to endure this present darkness even with a little light heartedness. We thank you, Father in Heaven, for your strengthening joy, for laughter and for unexpected, funny scenarios.

The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. Psalm 28:7