Hello, and welcome to another blessing Sunday. Traveling with me on this path are
Lynda Lambert who shared the idea with me
and
Abbie Johnson Taylor .

God created laughter, and He loves it when we laugh. Proverbs 17:22 says: “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” There’s a lot of science to support laughter as medicine, but that’s not the point of this post.

Sarah also laughed when her guests told her she would have a son in her old age (Gen 18:12). Whether she didn’t believe them and thought these men were utterly ignorant of the facts of life or whether she did believe them and her laughter was an expression of pure joy, we’re not told. I tend to suspect the former, as she denied laughing when confronted.

Sometimes laughter is the only choice that makes sense, even when the events of your life aren’t funny. I worked very hard yesterday on submitting a post to my writers’ group, only to find out later that my reply did not go to the list, it went to the last sender in the chain, and therefore it wasn’t received by the group leader. It seemed too trivial a disappointment to waste tears on, so I laughed.

There are obviously times when laughter isn’t an appropriate response. But there are quite a few instances when finding something to laugh about in a given situation can reduce the stress and make all involved a little bit happier. Even at funerals, sharing funny stories about the deceased person can help ease family tensions or lighten crushing grief.

Norman Cousins, in his book entitled “Anatomy of an Illness”, in which he discusses curing his ankylosing spondylitis, extolled the virtues of laughter, and as part of that cure, he watched or listened to comedies daily.

Sometimes hearing others laugh can cause us to laugh as well, and laughter becomes infectious–in a good way.

As a former physician, I can tell you all medicines demand a debt be paid. They have to be metabolized by the liver or the kidnies or the lungs, and that requires a toll on the person taking it. Not so with laughter. It has no adverse effects. Maybe all of us should try to incorporate more of it in our day-to-day.

Lord, thank you for the medicine of laughter you’ve provided for us. I’m absolutely positive you have a sense of humor–all one has to do is watch 2 blind folks trying to shake hands to figure that out. Help us to find levity in the situations we encounter and help others find it as well. Amen.