laughter through church

Dolly Parton said, in Steel Magnolia, "Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion." I agree with her but laughter in church is definitely fun. Anyone who has spent most of their life in church would remember a time when it was difficult to keep themselves under control because of some small thing that struck them funny.
This morning I am remembering a few such moments.
We used to go to prayer service every Wednesday at Grandpa and Grandma Sacry's house. Of course, since it was late in the day and it was a very quiet and reverent time, inevitably one child (adult?) would become sleepy. The time I remember is when Ken fell asleep. I suppose he was about 6 but I'm not sure. He fell asleep but instead of just leaning back on his chair, for some reason he was sitting very upright. I have no idea who was praying or giving testimony because we were all watching as he swayed, first forward, jerk, then sideways, jerk. Back and forth he went. Our prayers that night were focused more on helping Ken not fall off his chair than anything else. And our laughter was reserved for later but it was hard!
Mom told about a time when she was at a funeral with Grandpa Pyfer. She was sitting near the isle and happened to look down the isle to the back to see who was coming in. An old couple was slowly making their way down the isle. She was holding on to his arm and he was carrying her purse on his other arm. The sight of him carrying her purse struck Mom funny. So, right there in the middle of the funeral music Mom had what Terry and I call a "Nonie laugh." Not wanting to offend anyone she covered her face with her hanky and hand, shoulders shaking with her silent laughter. That was bad enough but Grandpa thought she was crying so he started patting her arm. This made it even worse! It was a long funeral trying to keep herself under control.
I laugh thinking of the time Terra and Tiffany were in their early teens and they were supposed to sing a song in church. They got up front. Began their song and something started them giggling. Maybe one of them made a mistake. I don't know. They would hold the book in front of their face and try to get control. Start again. After a few tries, they just had to sit down without singing their song.
My own worse (best?) and funniest time was when I was presiding one Sunday. As usual, I was trying something new. Part of that change up was not having people stand for the opening hymn. Mom was going on automatic so she stood - all by herself. The thing that got me started was the way she tried to slither her way back down to her seat without being too conspicuous. I tried to cover up my laughter with the hymn book in front of my face. Shoulders shaking, eyes crying, it was not working. The wisdom of age and similar experiences let me know I must leave the service, if only for a minute, and get it out. Luckily, the way the chairs were placed at that time was around the corner from the bathroom. I slithered around the corner as the hymn continued, went into the bathroom and laughed as hard as I could for probably only 30 seconds. Hardening my mind to not look at Mom or think about the situation I was able to preside over the service.
I believe if it happens again, depending on the circumstances, I will ask the congregation to please take a "Nonie laugh" break. We will all laugh our heads off and I will know that God is laughing with us. After all, didn't God create laughter? And, who says it's not ok to laugh in church?