Christian Education For Our Youth
"A good laugh overcomes more difficulties and dissipates more dark
clouds than any other one thing." -
Laura Ingalls Wilder
As
we approach the month of February, smack in the middle of winter, I am
reminded of a phrase I grew up with—the “winter blues”. It seems
as the days are at their shortest and it can sometimes be weeks before
you will see the sun, it is very easy for people to succumb to the dark
side of the daily grind of living. So what am I proposing as the
solution to this feeble, negative way of life? Laughter,
pure and simple.
Humor
was created by God and I believe it to be one of His greatest gifts to
us. I further believe that it is the situations in life where we cannot
find the humor, which will be our undoing. Please understand that
I am not suggesting we laugh at tragedy, but there can be humor
found in so many of the issues we have in life, if we just choose to
look. I am also not
suggesting humor at the expense of another’s feelings or the humor(?)
that we see on reality TV. We
all have different laugh triggers, but each of us has something that
will make us smile. I am personally a huge fan of the Muppets for a
quick laugh and there has never been a better TV show than the original
(black and white) Dick van Dyke Show.
Some
of our greatest sources of humor are children; their total honesty and
lack of filters can provide some really funny moments. A conversation
with my 3 year old nursery school class in which I was asking them to
explain what the tooth fairy’s job was, prompted one boy to say to
his pal “Mrs. Switzer is so
old.
You think she would know this stuff by now!” My son Drew, was never
happier growing up than when he could make me laugh (not the polite
mother hee-hee, a real laugh) and he remains one of my favorite
comedians to date. It is a gift that blesses in both directions.
Mark
Twain said that a day without humor is a day wasted. A magic thing
begins to happen when you begin to look for the humor in life; you find
joy as well. So pop a favorite DVD in for a laugh, read an Erma Bombeck
book or find a giggle wherever you can. Laughter IS the best medicine!
Have
a wonderful month,
Ellen