“God has a smile on His face.” — Psalm 42:5
“Let your heart be merry.” — Judges 19:6 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones – Proverbs 17:22
“Humor is a prelude to faith and laughter is the beginning of prayer.” Theologian Reinhold Niebuhr (1892 – 1971).
I grew up in a family of storytellers. There were always captivating stories told around the dining room table. Some were from the days of our great-grandparents, grandparents’ or parents’ lives. Some were recaps of adventures of the day. We always looked forward to being together. Not only because it was a time of connecting with each other but because we knew there would be stories, joy and laughter.
Our family dinners and family gatherings would always be loud and filled with stories that helped us connect to each other and learn about the challenges of life and how to overcome them to rekindle the joy and laughter. When it came to raising our children, we wanted to continue the same tradition at our dinner table. With that being said, we used storytelling to teach them about life’s experiences and how we can choose joy.
Even the Bible tells us that we need laughter and joy. But that can lead to misunderstanding. Because if I was to be doing things that only made me happy, I could wind up doing things that are going to land me in a lot of trouble. I’m talking about being joyful in life “not temporarily filled with happiness even when life isn’t going the way we’d like them to go” way.
There are few who escape pain, hard times or sadness life often brings us. I’ve shed a waterfall of tears in my life. I’m sure we’ve all had events that lead us to think we will never laugh or find joy again. But choosing joy is not based on circumstances that change. It comes as a gift from God that we are given to get us through our most difficult times in life.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for being with me through the laughter and the tears in life and for the gift of joy.
Epilogue: The children frequently asked if they could have a friend come over for dinner. There was always room at the table. I found out later that we had so much laughter and joy that their friends wanted to come and share and experience it for themselves. Had I known, I could have sold tickets to our dinners and make a profit!
