"Car Wash Yeah!"

I have a fear of automatic car washes. I hate them! I hate the noises they make, the force of the water spraying on your windows, the large, intimidating, red LED instruction sign that you can't read through the soap suds sprayed on your windshield, and the massive machinery that rotates around your vehicle. Automatic car washes scare the living daylights out of me! I would rather wash my car by hand any day. Well, any day except yesterday morning, I didn't feel like washing my car and I was getting really tired of looking at all the dead bugs on the hood and windshield. I decided to be brave, so when I filled up my car with gas at a local gas station yesterday, I added to the bill the cost of a car wash.

Then I courageously and proudly drove around the back of the gas station to enter the car wash. But when I saw the building of evil I was about to enter, I began to perspire. Panic set in. I wanted to turn my vehicle around, but I couldn't. It was too late. I had no choice but to go through the dreaded machine and face my fear. I was so nervous, I couldn't think clearly. As I wound down my driver's window and punched in my code, I stopped breathing. Then I looked forward and saw the large, devilish, red LED instruction sign: "Proceed slowly ahead." I told myself, "I can do this. I just need to take a deep breath and breath slowly." The only problem is that I should have done something else as well, but I was unaware of it at the time. (Remember my mind was not working at full capacity.) As I drove ahead slowly to my fate, the red LED instructions sign abruptly changed messages, "Stop!" I stopped and then the water sprayed forcefully from all directions. That's when the nightmare began. I suddenly became drenched from head to toe. I had forgotten to wind up my window! I punched several wrong buttons before I pushed the right one to wind it back up again. I was in total shock from horror. I wished I could turn back time. I looked in my rear-view mirror and thanked God that nobody was behind me to see my stupidity — after all a woman has her pride. I did manage, however, to complete the wash, but I didn't stay for the drying stage. I was out of there!

Then I started to laugh, and laugh I did. I never laughed so hard in my life! I was wet and embarrassed, but I survived the car wash. It sure felt great to laugh! The fearsome experience was almost worth the laughter.

When God told Sarah she was going to have a baby at ninety years old, she first laughed in unbelief, but then later she laughed with joy at the humour of it all.

"God has brought me laughter. All who hear about this will laugh with me."

Genesis 21:6

God created laughter, so laugh at the craziness of life!