Last week my daughter Amy and I were traveling together listening to a message I preached earlier in the week. During the message I started to say one word but realized mid-syllable it was a mistake and ended with a different syllable of a different word. What resulted was unintelligible gibberish. Honestly, I didn't even remember making the mistake until I heard the cd. During the message I moved on without missing a beat, saying what I intended. But when my daughter heard that, she couldn't help herself. She played it over and over and over. And every time she played it, she laughed harder. She kept saying, through her tears of laughter, "wait, wait, here it is". And when I'd say the gibberish we'd start all over again. How humbling. To make matters worse, she recorded it on her cell phone and said she was going to use it as a ring tone. Now that's low! I asked her if she remembered what the sermon was about. She said, "Yeah, I got it last Sunday Dad"! I've personally had a variety of responses to messing up. Laughter is not always one of them. Who can relate? In our church, as we practice the worship sets for services each week, my tendency is to be very focused. The last thing I want is a melt down due to lack of preparation. But when I catch myself getting too serious - I can tell and so can you - I try to stop and force myself to lighten up. You have to. I'm not always successful, but I do know what God's word says, "a merry heart (laughter) is like a good medicine". I've seen very difficult circumstances move forward because someone chose to step out and look at the lighter side of things. Taking the mask off and laughing at ourselves is not always easy, but at the appropriate moment it can be refreshing for everyone. Maybe we should stop and laugh a little more often. My daughter's laughter was contagious. Ours will be too... if we'll allow it.
God is good!
Tim Covert
Tags: Christian Music, Devotional, Worship
