Suffolk resident Charles Owens knows what God’s sense of humor looks like. He experienced it on the edge of a cliff one time.

He recounts the experience in the recently-released “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Devotional Stories for Tough Times.”

“This is a true story,” Owens said. “At the time of the incident, I had gotten to a point where I was focusing on everything but God. I was allowing the possibility of failure to creep into my mind, and what happened in the story reminded me that I needed to keep the challenges of life in their proper perspective.”

In the story, Owens tells of a time in college when he thought he would get a poor grade in physics class. In despair, he went to cliffs overlooking the beach stood there watching the sunset.

“And then I began to complain bitterly about my lack of understanding and why God was not allowing me to achieve an A in physics,” he wrote. “It was then that God answered me. Distinctly, I heard His words to me, ‘It is going to be all right. Stop complaining.’ Then suddenly, out of a calm sea, a wave splashed up on the side of the cliff and drenched me!”

“I looked around, and I was the only one there! And I laughed and laughed. God has a sense of humor after all.”

Owens concludes the story by admitting he never received the A, but he passed the class and never looked back.

Owens, who works in strategic communications and public affairs and currently is based in Kabul, Afghanistan, said he submitted the story on the Chicken Soup series website.

Owens is a native of Trinity, N.C., and received his undergraduate degree in business from Point Loma Nazarene College and his master’s degree from the Naval War College.

This is far from the first story that Owens has written. His first short story, “Journey by Candlelight or Illuminado,” was published under its own cover. Another story, “Sea Story,” is in the final draft stages and should be out in late spring of next year. And a recent article on strategic communication was published in the October 2011 edition of Proceedings Magazine.

“My desire is that anyone who reads this story will come to understand that even in our deepest moments of despair, God will provide the light necessary for the path for us to take that will leave our despair behind.”

For more information about the Chicken Soup series or to purchase the book, visit www.chickensoup.com.