Legacy of Laughter

Thoughts for a Thursday, July 10th. I would never want anyone to believe that I am serious every moment of the day. Life is just too funny to miss out on a good laugh whenever the opportunity presents itself. Many people are naturally funny. Others think they are funny but they aren’t or at least no one agrees they are. That should be a good indicator to them but some persist in thinking they are anyway. I feel blessed to be a part of a very funny family. It’s a family of storytellers. It’s made up of folks who don’t mind poking fun at themselves. After all, these are the funniest stories where we are willing to share an experience where we goofed up. I am thankful that I can remember my grandfather’s laugh, my Granny Mac’s giggle, my mom bent over because of a funny story, and many others that come to mind as I write today’s blog.

There are special moments I recall where people just couldn't help themselves from laughing out loud. I’ll never forget watching my wife’s dad and her brother cracking up while watching the video of the first “Home Alone” movie. Being preachers they didn’t go to movies but they were at our house that first Christmas after it came out on video. We had already watched it several times but to them it was brand new. What a sight! They essentially came unglued as tears of laughter rolled down their cheeks as they watched little Kevin do battle with the bad guys. What a memory! What a testimony to the value of a good hearty laughing experience that brings both a tear and a smile even as I think about it today.

As we have grown older, my wife and I find more and more to laugh about. She thinks I am funny even when I am not trying to be. She also loves to catch me being amused when she knows I don’t want to be amused. Again, it’s much better whenever it flows naturally from the fabric of life as opposed to trying to be funny. We are blessed to have some funny children and many very funny grandchildren. (Some of them just crack us up, all of the time.) Yes, life is serious and we desire for our offspring to recognize this fact. But it is also brief and God has given us the gift of joy and we should be taking advantage of it as much as we can.

One of the characteristics of any of our family gatherings is the amount of laughter one hears. This is true whenever our entire group gets together for a reunion fellowship as well as our immediate family sharing a meal together. Hearing our kids and grand kids laughing together is one of the greatest of blessings parents can enjoy. Sure enough there is and will be plenty to cry about in this life but my how blessed we are to be able to share a good hearty laugh together. I’ve written about this several times before but I wanted to again remind us all to take time to put on a happy face and find a good wholesome source that causes smiles to turn into laughter.

I want to share a few random quotes about laughter to help emphasize its value. Many of them are anonymous. “A laugh is a smile that bursts.” “Laugh as much as you breathe and love as much as you live.” “Nothing shows more of a man’s character than that which he laughs at.” “Earth laughs in flowers.” “The person who learns to laugh at himself will never cease to be amused.” “Laughter is the shock absorber that helps ease the blows of life.” “Laughter is the closest distance between too people.” “Laughter is a tranquilizer with no side effects.” “Laughter is the brush that sweeps away the cobwebs of your heart.” And finally, the one quote that should make us all take note as found Proverbs 17, verse 22: “A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones.” Let’s try not to have too many dried bones! Amen. ….More later.