God's Sense of Humor

Perhaps that post title seems strange, but let me explain how this came about. One of the oft-quoted scriptures in my life is, "we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do" (2 Nephi 25:23). I've been thinking a lot about grace, and and how to qualify for grace, and how to let God be God in my life. I think I have high expectations for myself--I mean, I'm smart and capable and determined, so I should be able to do lots of things, right? I feel like I should try my hardest--and then at that point, I can turn to God and ask for help, when I feel that I've done all that I possibly can...except, the problem for me tends to be that I always feel like there always is something more I should do, so it makes it hard for me to feel like I ever deserve grace. I've been realizing lately how wrong this is--yes, I do believe that God expects us to do our best, but He will also help us to do our best, and will grant us grace even as we're trying (and sometimes failing). Anyway, recognizing that I need to think differently about this, and essentially, let God love me instead of feeling like I have to do everything, I've been trying to think more about the character of God and what I know about Him through my personal experiences with Him--not just something that I've read or been but something that I know from my own interaction with Him. I started a list, where I could write down some ideas and experiences, and the very first thing that I had to write down was that He has a sense of humor. Maybe that seems weird, but I really think it's true. A couple examples: Bright and early one Saturday morning, I wanted to go to the temple; the problem was that I was tired, and they seat you in these nice comfortable chairs, and I was afraid I'd fall asleep, which I didn't want to do. So, I prayed earnestly for help not to fall asleep, and when it came time to participate in an endowment session, I went with the group to the assigned room...and it turned out that there was one seat too few, so the temple workers pulled out a folding chair, set it in the aisle, and directed me to it. Let me assure you, I didn't fall asleep. The chair wasn't as comfy, but I was also afraid that if I did doze off, I'd end up falling off the chair and everyone would know! So, let me tell you, I was wide awake, and when I said a silent, "That's not quite what I meant," I felt a chuckle in response (which is not to say that I think God was laughing at me, but I really felt like He was in fact laughing and we shared a funny moment.) Just a few days ago, I was thinking about our struggles with infertility and how they have dragged on and on and on...and on. Being that it was close to Pioneer Day (which is in fact, today), a day when the Latter-day Saints honor the early pioneers of the church who sacrificed so much to be members of the church, who were driven out of their homes multiple times and eventually settled in the Rocky Mountains to try to find safety, I had pioneers on the brain, I guess. The thought that I had was, "It didn't take the pioneers as long to cross the plains as it's taken us to be able to have children," (which is kind of a selfish thought, I know. I'm not particularly proud of it.),and immediately a very droll response came: "Some of them had to stay in Winter Quarters." I was instantly corrected--since many, many of the Saints did in fact have to stay in Winter Quarters, a settlement in Nebraska where they stayed when it became obvious they were not going to make it across the plains in one summer. And while it was a serious answer, the way that it came--this dry, one-sentence answer really did have a drollness to it that was both effective in conveying the correction but also not making me feel like a horrible person for having a whiny moment. I don't know, maybe it's one of those you-had-to-be-there moments, but I have had enough of those moments with God to really feel strongly that He has a sense of humor, and I like that about Him. :)