it's just funny.

Why is laughter, of all the things in life, one that I may be most grateful for? Proverbs tells us that:  "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." And really, no matter what's going on in life - if you can laugh, you can live. That's one of the biggest blessings for me in our church and in my job. We laugh. A LOT! Most the time "with" but sometimes purely "at" one another (all in love).

 

My best friend bought me a keepsake box once. Inscribed in gold letter on the deep brown wood is Ecclesiastes, "there is a time for everything. a time to sow, a time to harvest, a time to mourn, a time to dance..." and embossed over this verse is the word "LAUGH" in big, bold, gold, lettering. (She knows me so well). In all of these "times", whatever they bring and wherever God moves you, just being able to laugh makes so many things possible. 

Like the Proverb says, it's like a medicine. It makes your soul healthy, strong. 

So, today, I thought about the times in the past couple of weeks or so that have made me laugh...from my gut. Some - I WISH I could post online! But, for the sake of my own reputation (and others, who undoubtedly have more to lose), these will suffice:

So, one day I was on the phone with a wonderful friend. As I talked, I paced my grandmother's porch. I failed to look down and spot this mean cactus. See that brown stem? Sharper than it looks? Well, I managed to become aware of this cactus because it stabbed me without remorse in a very...delicate...area. Angry cactus. VERY angry me.

 

I risk my life to bring you this laugh. This is Christmas morning at our house. My uncle Kenny surveys his new Nike jacket with a grin, and my grandmother looks on. I like to call this "dreaming of a bald Christmas". (my grandmother's hair is still trying to recover from several rounds of chemo and a stem cell transplant).

These two "mature" ladies are drinking margaritas and a beer. It's 11 am. (5 o'clock somewhere right?)

Remember this candy? Why did they give us this as children? We wore them around our wrists or necks, collecting dirt and sweat (and other people's spit if you were a sharer) and then we ate them. Michelle still eats them. And that makes me laugh.

Scroll through your mind for a minute. Just think of a couple moments that made you laugh - really laugh. And then breathe a contented sigh. Isn't today better already?