B E H I N D / T H E / B A R

My wife and I sat one evening listening to a married couple talk about some of the lessons they had learned over the 24 years of their marriage.  I took copious notes, and a lot of what they said challenged me in such profound ways.  But it was the first “lesson” they shared that has probably impacted me the most and it was the lesson of having fun. 

If anyone knows me, then you know that I love to laugh.  I love a great joke.  I’ll even tolerate a bad joke if its even just a little bit funny.  My dad, his brother (my uncle), and their dad (my grandfather), are or were crafty pranksters.  Its in my DNA, and apparently it has been passed on to my kids. 

But as I have aged, I have discovered that having fun seems to be low on my priority list.  So many aspects of my life require serious thought, serious conversation, and serious decisions.  Fun seems more like a luxury, than a necessity.  But in reality its very necessary.  

My wife recently reminisced about one evening during college when a group of friends were all just hanging out on campus.  She remembered with great detail the laughter, the dancing, the silliness of the night.  “That’s my favorite memory of you.”  Funny thing is I remember that night too.  Its like a photograph filed away in the recesses of my mind, but one I remember very clearly.  I’ve thought a lot about that memory, but even more importantly about what my wife said, in essence, “that Shannon is a memory.” 

Well . . its time to dust that Shannon off, and welcome him back into my life.  I’ve determined to find a way, a reason to laugh, out loud, to belly laugh at least once a day.  I refuse to grow old and crotchety.  Because that Shannon, the old and crotchety one, will one day find himself alone, isolated, and friendless.  His kids won’t want to call or come around.   His “friends” will be courtesy friends –  tolerating him but barely.  Um. . . No thank you. 

I’m not going to live like all of life is a party, or one big joke, but by golly I am going to have fun today, and I hope you will too.   Laugh today.  Smile, sincerely, today.  Have fun, today!  It’s necessary!

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength. – Proverbs 17:22

I’d love for you to send me a story, or a challenging thought that I can share here, each week.  The only two guidelines are that it has to be under 500 words, and it has to be an encouraging or thought provoking message.  Send it to shannon@riverchurch.me.