The Jon Dylan Guide to Life & Living

Thursday, August 28, 2008

I wrote this post two days ago and I thought it was pretty cool. Until I went to publish it and the internet (which had been playing up all day) decided it would go offline and it was only then that I realised the auto-save function hadn't been working. So I lost most of it and had to pretty much start from scratch and write it again. Then I got home and found it had saved most of it, just hadn't showed up yet! All that, after I'd already re-written it. I've always said God is into irony (no, not ironing) and now I know it for sure! The post was all about trying to find humour in a bad situation. So if anyone can see the funny side of that then I'd love to hear it! Anyway so this is my attempt at re-writing the post. Here goes...

I found this meaning of the word humour: An alternative (or surprising) shift in perception or answer is given that still shows relevance and can explain a situation; When a sudden relief occurs from a tense situation.
They say that humour is a great way to live longer, be healthier, and helps to get you through life's struggles and trials. They, whoever they are, would be right I believe. I have found throughout the years that whenever I'm going through a rough time, if I try and see the humour in a situation rather than point out all the negatives, the valley becomes less intense. It is still hard, but somehow easier to bear.


The trick is, as well as seeing the funny side of things, is remembering to look back. To look at the past that God has brought you out of; to look at the dry times that God has brought you through; to look at the good times that God has provided for you. If you look back and see where you've trekked already, it becomes easier to look forward because you don't have to worry about the future. You know God's going to come through because He's already proved it. It becomes so much easier to trust Him that He will work the situation out for good. The hard part is letting go of what YOU think is best. When things don't go quite the way you planned them to, it's so easy just to curl up in a ball and think woe is me. But God wants you to stand firm. Stand on His word that never lies, and on His truths that never fail.

The world could fall to pieces and still there God is, unchanging.

Wow.

Powerful stuff if only we could remember it in the midst of our struggles!


So back to the part with the humour in it...
Sometimes it helps to laugh at yourself. About a week ago, I had a really bad day: Woke up at least 3 times in the night, had heaps of stressful customers at work, machines jamming all day long, jobs not coming out right the first time, people asking me stuff I didn't know how to answer, and I was still pretty sick so not feeling the greatest. I got home, lay on the couch and wanted to cry and scream at God in anger and frustration. But knowing full well that wouldn't get me anywhere, I turned on my stereo, cranked up my favourite song & began to jump up and down. After a little while (seeing there was no one around) I started to sing at the top of my lungs. And seeing there was no one around - the one good thing about not having any flatmates - the jumping turned into spinning and crazy dancing (Kate, you know what I mean) and I started to smile. Just a small one, but it was enough to be infectious and then the laughing started. Suddenly, things didn't look so bad. In fact, they were starting to look pretty darn good. It reminded me of the times when I was a kid and my dad used to tell me a dumb joke whenever I got grumpy. I would roll my eyes at him, but eventually a smile would appear and all would be right in the world again. Trust dads to know the right things to do.

Yup that's all I've got.
Till next time...