What is it about laughter that can overwhelm us? Why is it that I seem to laugh at the most inconvenient times – do you know what I mean? For instance – that particular moment when my daughter and I sat at the dinner table of a friend’s house. Now mind you, this beautiful friend is amazing and has a unique, incredible quality of knowing how to be quiet. However when around people like this – it can be quite dangerous – dangerous because of me…as many of you know by now, quietness and I don’t go well together in the mix of awkwardness! So there we were, around the dinner table – no one was talking – yet in the midst of the ‘tongue-salivating’, ‘lip-smacking’, ‘food processin” sound – mixed with the awkward silence – it was over! Yep – freakin’ over! The laughter stirred up within me like a violent hurricane, wiping out the levy’s of controlled laughter – it was like a tsunami of sorts in which my bladder was overtaken with this gigantic laughing wave and right there in the beautifully new, upholstered chair I lost it – my pee that is. As pee left my body, sheer panic came flooding in and within moments I went from being a dinner guest to being the one who was stared at by my friend who honorably hosted us – she was in utter shock – no words, no laughter, just plain shock.
Meanwhile, I could only imagine what she was thinking…perhaps her thoughts went something like this, “Did she really just pee on my brand new chair?” “Is this really happening?” Within seconds she unfroze and ran to action, grabbing some towels and cleaner, as I stood in a puddle of embarrassment I even more awkwardly attempted to assist; that is when she stopped me and ever so patiently insisted that I wash off as she handed me a clean towel and some clean clothes as I planned on asking for a bag to place my soiled clothes in and would wash them when I got home – instead she insisted that she place my drenched pants into the washer.
This sadly hilarious, real life story leads me to the reminder of joy. As joy comes forth it is like a ‘flushing’ tool that purges out the ‘waste’ of worries – supernatural joy that randomly seems to come forth is not mere chance but purposeful – the purpose allowing us the opportunity to stand in the midst of shame and allowing the waves of victorious grace to overwhelm us, washing us. The ‘joy giving strength’ rises up from within, obliterating the levy’s of ‘self’ and allowing the tsunami waves of God’s joyful grace to overwhelm us as He cleans us up and extends His beautiful hands of restoration toward, upon and in us, allowing HIS joy to overflow onto others – extending what we have freely dove into and never being the same – and I mean NEVER the same as we get to reveal the One Who cleaned us up and washed the embarrassing and shameful stains away!
The Pee Diaries Of A Laughing Mom 