"How do you make God laugh?  You make a plan..."

It's a line from one of my favorite movies, Kicking and Screaming.  It's Noah Baumbach's first film, starring Eric Stoltz, Parker Posey, others.  I saw it first when I was in college, considering the ramifications of graduating, getting a job, growing up.  It was the perfect film to harness the angst of a pending alumnus.

There are hundreds of brilliant lines in that film, and hundreds more when you watch it for the 10th time, but the quote above has stuck with me.  It isn't funny in the context of the film, but it sums up the fear the characters are trying to overcome.  It spoke to me about the futile nature of trying to control the outcomes in life.

But it also spoke to me about the importance of making God laugh.

Which brings me to mowing the lawn (of all things).  I'm allergic to pollen, especially grass pollen, so I hate mowing the lawn.  It is one of the evil necessities of owning a house.  I've learned to deal with it.  I take a Claritin before I begin; I wash my face after I'm done, and I make sure to change shirts when I get back in the house.  Despite these precautions, I avoid mowing the lawn.  I put it off for as long as possible, but when I mow, I expect everything to go according to plan.

Oops.

Two falls ago, I forgot to empty the gas tank, so last spring, my mower was gummed up.  I thought about cleaning it, but even working in top form, it would take me hours to finish the job.  My family chipped in and put money towards a riding mower for my birthday.  All last summer it worked beautifully.  I cut my mowing time by 66%.  I did everything I should to winterize it, and this spring, it fired up just fine.  I was able to cut the lawn easily, and I was able to do it with a tall boy in the cup holder.

Everything according to plan.  Until I ran over a little chuck of garden fencing.

I punctured a hole in the front tire.  I've tried to repair it to no avail.  It will hold air for 30 minutes or so, long enough to mow the front or back yard.  I've borrowed an air compressor from my father-in-law.  Now I need to figure out how to jack up the tractor, remove the wheel, and get the tire repaired professionally.

I still wash my face when I come in, but I just have to stop midway through the job to re-inflate the tire.  I made a plan.  God laughed.  I've adjusted my plan, and I think God is laughing harder.