Goofy Girl!

“Ajkdlfjdkjdkljfdkjfeiejfkdjfkdjei!” I couldn’t tell you what I was saying to myself, but I knew the tone and attitude were not good.  I wasn’t even really aware that I was speaking so harshly to myself until I was interrupted by a LOUD screeching noise. *insert my boy's scream here*

I had 5 errands to run that day and in order to fit it all in I had to push my cart just a little faster through the supermarket that day.  There weren’t any casualties; just one run-in and a couple of other really close calls.     

With the groceries in the back of my van, I drove away replaying the run-in and near misses of my shopping cart running into this person and that display; when my baby let out a screech of frustration that brought awareness to my own feelings of frustration.

At that moment I sensed God nudging my heart to look at my boy AND the volume of his scream could definitely not be ignored!  I looked back at him and couldn’t resist laughing…literally laughing out loud!

As I laughed, a series of memories from previous weeks played in my head. These past weeks my mind has been ever aware of laughter and its necessity in my life.  I even told God I wanted to make people laugh more in my own circle.  Especially in the midst of tough situations and emotions, God has shown me His gift of laughter.  I remembered:

*I attended a funeral and then was blessed by the funny stories told by a friend of the family.  My cheeks and belly hurt after having dinner with her.

*Our pastor shared a bit of her story about living with joy amidst pain.

*My boy made us laugh when he was sharing a tough situation going on for him at school.

*My husband made me laugh while enduring a long walk; when I needed to get home to get some things done.

*A Facebook friend’s post made me laugh and gave my heart a fresh perspective.

*Bible study girls made me laugh when talking and praying about some deep emotional struggles.

*Girlfriendit Radio shared about humor—go listen here.

*My girlfriend who is in the process of publishing her first book with a collaboration of hilarious stories of her journey growing up with a prosthetic leg-made me laugh as she shared some of her struggles this past week.  Check out her Facebook page here and look for her to share some of her writing here with us soon.    

And then like old family tapes playing, I saw flashes of girlfriend’s victories and stories making me smile:

*A girlfriend choosing to let go and be goofy after healing from some dark stuff, strikes a pose and claims she’s a ROCKSTAR! (I have called her a rockstar now for almost 3 years)

*A girlfriend choosing to keep the conversation focused on Christ brings her wittiness to the table time and time again.

*A girlfriend willing to be vulnerable and courageous enough to share her mishaps makes me smile and laugh often.

*A girlfriend reminded me that even though I cannot remember the punch line to a joke—that this action in itself is funny!

*A girlfriend makes me laugh when in an email she shared her story and reminded me to: Stand for something. If you are too open minded, all your brains will fall out! 

I want to be one willing to go there and talk about the hard stuff, but I want to bring comic relief too—don’t you?

Well, back to my boy screaming in the back seat!  He was sitting there trying to get his shirt off while strapped in his car seat.  This newfound interest of his has made me smile all week because of the oddity of it.  This week I have found him in his crib with his arms either wiggled out of his jammies or completely shirtless if the wardrobe was right.      

At that moment I sensed God smiling BIG!  “Do you see how you look at him and smile and laugh and think his silly behavior is both cute and funny—Julie, goofy girl, I think the same about you!  Keep going, just be yourself…you are my beloved goofy-girl!”

That’s it!  I am a goofy girl, and sometimes my husband lovingly tells me just that when I do something odd or silly or weird.  (Hmmm… the words we speak have later impact on another, realizing that God used my husband’s kind response to speak to me months-years later…)

God affectionately was telling me relax-chill out, talk nicer to yourself when you mess up!  And the thing is, I know God doesn’t just say this about me.  He says it about you too—yes, you are a goofy girl too!

I love chatting with other girlfriends and talking about how God has been stirring in their hearts and moving them to new places.  Just this weekend I chatted with girlfriends and heard about their busy week and what God was doing in and through them even though life was busy.  

I do believe, that by sharing our experiences,  we inspire others and we just might make someone else giggle with our stories.

This week when I mess up, rather than get into a funk of emotions, I am going to remember these affectionate words about me, “goofy girl,”and then move on! 

What about you?

Don’t you just want to wiggle yourself out of that bad attitude like my son wiggled himself out of his shirt—let’s make each other giggle, share our experiences and just talk nicer to ourselves! 

So, how can you relate, goofy girl?

Please share your thoughts below and connect with other goofy girls on my blog, Girlfriendit, and my FB page. BRING ON THE GIGGLES!