I love this happy verse:

I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow (Jeremiah 31:13).

Let’s put another spin on it: the things that used to make us sad or mad can now make us glad. That is, what used to hurt then makes us laugh now! The horror stories people are sharing under the barbecue forums are both horrible and gripping. You’ve got to read them if you haven’t already! I honestly think that one day many of those who wrote those stories will be able to laugh at them. That’s down the road.

Of course, the closer laughter gets to the actual event could be a sign of mental illness. If you’re laughing while it’s happening, that’s probably not good. If you laugh the next day, that might be denial. If you laugh the next week, that might be a good try. If you laugh next month, that might be too soon. If you laugh next year, that might be real. If you laugh next decade, that’s probably genuine. Granted: some stories will never be laughable.

But some horrible things that happened to me in the church many years ago I use as fascinating stories to tell. I don’t even have to embellish them. I have people staring at me open-eyed and mouths agape as I tell them my literally unbelievable tales. Many times I get them to shake their heads in disbelief and even hold their sides in laughter. I’ve got stories where my listeners have declared, “That’s some crazy shit, dude!”

Now, the stuff that just happened a couple years ago… well… that’s still in the oven. But I’m already cooking up some funny ways to tell those stories. How about you?