Just kidding

I'm sorry I haven't blogged in a while. I know its becoming a regular refrain, but it seems the busyness just grabs me...well, you know the rest. But I still have so much to share from the Governor's visit, but for now we'll go onto other thoughts that have rattled around in the cranium for a while.

Do you know what I think are the two most hurtful words in the English language? "I'm joking". OK, so technically that's three words, but you get the point. These words are so hurtful because they are usually preceded by words that have some element of truth in them. "I'm joking" is a way a person can tell you hurtful things without trying to hurt you. Make sense? I know we've all experienced this. With a bunch of friends and one says, "man you're looking kind of rough tonight. J/k." That means just kidding for those of you over 30. LOL

I was sitting in church yesterday minding my own business when the old man goes on one of his riffs he's famous for. (For those of you that don't know, the old man is my dad who is also the pastor for my church.) He's telling his jokes about this and that. That's when I get that sick feeling in my stomach. Let me preface this by saying that I have been a preachers kid all my life. I know no other way of life. Anyways, when I get that feeling I know that sooner or later, the old man was going to get to us in his sermon. This is one of his favorite techniques, to use his kids as illustrations. Often times, though, these illustrations ridicule us, causing people to laugh at us. We asked him once why he picks on us and he says, "Well, I can't pick on other people's kids, so I have to use mine as examples." I felt like saying...never mind. LOL But it's par for the course. We're used to it. It's part of life. And he always ends his riffs with the words..."na'o a'u tala ula lava" - shortly, "Just kidding".

What was different about yesterday was after the service some of my friends, as is their habit, were having a good laugh at my expense. Again, this is normal behavior and I give it right back to them. But on the way to the car my daughter looks up to me and asks, "Daddy, why are those men laughing at you?" I looked at her and before I could answer, I stopped. I was going to tell her the truth. But I couldn't because it would only lead to more questions. So I told her, "I told them a joke." Satisfied, she replied, "It must be a funny joke." It got me to thinking. When will this stop? Will it ever stop? Sometimes when I think I'm all grown, things happen to show me that I still have a ways to go.

Maybe this is God's way of humbling me. I was trying to figure out what the purpose of this is. What good could possibly come out of this? Was I blowing it out of proportion because my daughter asked me a question? As I sit and as I ponder, I know the old man loves us. This is just one of the ways he shows his love. Kind of a strange way of showing it, but then he's kind of unique in that way. So what conclusions have I drawn? I have a hard time feeling the old man's love sometimes. Just kidding.