Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Behind the joke and smile...there's a bit of Robin in us all!

I love to laugh! It feels good, especially when it isn't making light of someone else or
hurting in its nature. I always enjoyed my teaching profession because there were so many
situations and people that made one laugh. Yet, oddly, behind the smile, the joke, the laughter, one often finds a masking of problems.

There's that clown syndrome. One looks at a clown and comes away with an odd feeling
that something is being hidden. Now we don't all have cocaine issues. Statistics would
suggest that most of us aren't alcoholics, severely depressed or alienated to the point that
we consider suicide. But there may be a serious lesson, here. I know that whenever someone
asks me how I am doing, I am likely to too quickly answer with a smile and a "Fine."

My daughter had this habit, when much younger, of starting to laugh, continuing to
laugh..even harder, and ending up crying. It was such an odd progression, but there may
be something to it. Underneath,  down where we don't frequently like to dig, all of us
have a lurking sadness. Most times we can either be unaware of it or cover it with a
veneer of lightheartedness. 

Robyn Williams was a very successful comedian and actor. By all accounts he was
very proficient at his craft, always showing up for work and very dependable. He
was in the midst of up-coming work, including a proposed sequel to the Mrs.
Doubtfire role that was so successful. He was undergoing treatment for depression,
which along with the drug and alcohol history, were constant problems in his life.
Now, suddenly, he is gone.

So what is the lesson, here? I think it is one that shows the reality of our lives; we
struggle in this lifetime. It isn't all a bed of roses for any of us. We can be wealthy,
have much "stuff," successful in our family and work lives, and still battle to be
happy inside. We have a difficult time depending upon ourselves to keep things
steady, to find fulfillment and purpose, to keep the smile realistic.

Doesn't take a rocket scientist to know the answer, here. The answer is the truth.
The truth is  Jesus Christ, who alone, can bring peace internal, purpose to our
lives, assurance about the future and love that is unequaled. Once you know Him,
once you are in Him, no one can separate you or take you away. The smile is now
upon your heart. Struggle though you might, those things at the core of your existence
are now the Gospel of forgiveness. Acceptance. Peace. Contentment. Rest. Joy.

He is waiting for you to ask and call Him.
Praise God!

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