“A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22)
Some people really have a good laugh! It’s one of those ‘laughs’ that just sounds so hearty, genuine and one that is contagious. Do you know someone like that? You know … that person(s) who brings happiness and smiles to a room, to a family, or to a congregation.
- Babies can do that! Young children can do that! Adolescents not so much (only kidding, sort of)!
- Adults can too! They brighten the room they enter, they bring laughter to our family tables and they remind us of what can be good about life and living.
Question of the day: Am I that kind of person?
Genuine laughter … hearty laughter … is one of the many gifts our God and Creator has blessed each of us with and He has given us the ability not only to possess it, but to give it away to others. Genuine laughter, not the fake, cynical or haughty kind our world is so familiar with, has an amazing intrinsic ability to:
- Diminish the pains we’re experiencing.
- Lift our souls and temperament in a joyous and happy kind of way.
- Offer us a bright hope for those unknown times that lie ahead.
Perhaps laughter can even be a part or extension of the phrase recorded in Hebrews 1:9, “the oil of gladness …” There is no doubt that laughter can help to reduce any sense of friction between people. There is no doubt that laughter can help build bridges over the chasms of cynicism, doubt and mistrust. There is no doubt that laughter can also help the individual who is contending daily with the stress and pressure of life and the constant clamoring it makes for our time, affection and attention.
The responsibility (a word so many in our world would rather not use) to be the kind of person who radiates joy, laughter, happiness comes squarely upon each one of us! No one else can be happy for us! No one else can laugh for us! No one else will answer for us!
Decide today you will not be that person who walks around with your head down, arms hanging low, with a woe-is-me Eeyore look on your face! Decide not to be a ‘downer’ that others walk away from feeling parched and discouraged! Refresh others with your presence … you’ll be glad you did!
Bill Fairchild, Jr.
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