Laughing during troubling times can soothe the soul
"He who has a glad heart has a continual feast (regardless of his circumstances).
- Proverbs 15:15 (AMP)
We've been under such tremendous pressure lately. Deciding when to go out or when to stay home, as well as how to take care of family and friends. Not to mention dealing with the general daily issues of life. It was all starting to get on my nerves.
One day, I pondered the last time I'd had a good laugh.
Sure things have been hard, but we still need to unwind with a dose of laughter. It's a spiritual principle God designed to keep us balanced. Without it, the stresses of life can cause us to have a mental breakdown.
How about you? Have you had a good laugh lately? Maybe your heart is heavy over some circumstance that is stopping the flow of laughter in your life. There are times I struggle with that, too. It's not easy when you've lost a job, a loved one or some of your prized material possessions.
That's why, when I'm really down and out, I ask God, "Teach me to laugh."
Oftentimes, we feel like there is no joy within us. Proverbs 15:15 reveals that God placed joy in every believer (my paraphrase), but it's up to us to cultivate it.
Journalist and author Norman Cousins was diagnosed with cancer. When he was given a grim report, he decided to fill the rest of his days with laughter. He watched funny movies and an amazing thing happened - he laughed his way to health.
I'm not saying we will all have that same result by doing that, but it shows there is a healing quality to laughter.
When our hearts are filled with sorrow, depression and pain, it blocks our flow of life-giving joy. It's not realistic that we should laugh about everything, or even feel like laughing when traumatized by something tough, but a good chuckle can cheer up our troubled soul.
We need to be mindful to keep our joking light by following the biblical guidelines to avoid making others the brunt of our jests. Hurting other peoples' feelings isn't considered a laughing matter to God.
We also need to be careful not to try to make someone laugh if they've been through a tremendous sorrow and aren't ready yet.
When we're ready to laugh, funny movies, joke books and a fun time on the phone reminiscing with friends are a few of the ways that can accomplish this.
Being joyful in life's journey doesn't mean the absence of problems, rather, practicing spiritual principles of laughter in the presence of them.
• Annettee Budzban is a Christian author, speaker, life coach and nurse. Contact her by emailing Annetteebudzban@aol.com or call (847) 543-8413. She is available to be your personal coach.