Soul Food for marriage

I really think laughter is "soul food" for our marriages. Dr. Kelly Flanagan, in his latest blog post, Marriage is a Joke!, shares some funny stories from his marriage and how God can redeem some conflicting producing scenarios into laughter years later. Here is one of them...


"My wife’s grandparents have been married for sixty-three years. Last summer, while dining with them in their home, my wife and I asked them, “What is the key to remaining together for more than six decades?”

This bride of more than sixty years became thoughtful and quiet. A short pause. And then she aged in reverse as a wide smile dawned on her face and she exclaimed, “Look at the two of us! Who else would have us?!” Through a gale of laughter, she added, “We couldn’t get divorced—we only have one car!”

Across the table, her husband of sixty-three years watched and listened and the corners of his mouth turned upward with fondness for his constant bride. And then he slyly offered his own opinion, “The key to marriage is learning how to dis-communicate.”

Another eruption of laughter as we enjoyed the joke that was no joke. Because although the words were a joke, the way in which the words were being shared was no joke at all:

They were laughing about life.

They were enjoying each other.

They were showing us the secret to six decades of marriage: laughter and delight in the one we have committed to love, for better or worse." 


I love how he does this and the conflicts, in time, become "soul food" by God's grace.

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Yesterday, Monique and I had one of those days full of "soul food" for our marriage. We had to do a couple of double takes towards each other and potentially frustrating situation after frustrating situation came between us. We hesitated for a few seconds and then broke out laughing. For example; we had cat issues. One of the cats we left with friends in Friday Harbor, with the help of daughter Ellie, made an unexpected ferry trip and arrived on our doorstep here in Burlington. This cat named Jammer, needed some care and flea treatments, as he experienced some tussels with racoons. 


So...in the midst of running some errands around town, which can many times be an effort of going around in circles, Monique shares that we need to get flea stuff for Jammer. My brain clicks in and I head towards a pet store. When we get there confusions reigns in my brain, "hmmm...this doesn't look right". I sat there and then finally realized I want to be at PetsMart, not Petco. Ugh! We both laughed as the frustrations of the day and the "roundabouts" of errand running seemed to be mounting out of our control. 

Our laughter together broke the tension and provided the "soul food" we both needed to point our car towards PetsMart and do the next thing. Do you ever have those moments that go sour and later God turns them into comical 

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