SIMPLE IS BETTER - The Transformative Power of Laughter in Everyday Life

Proverbs 17:22 – A happy heart is like good medicine. But a broken spirit drains your strength. 

“Is Grandpa in the car,” our littlest grandchild asked as I picked her up from school one day.

No, honey, he isn’t.

“Where IS he?” she asked, which was followed by a conversation of how we could hunt Grandpa down.

And then the line that made me smile, followed by a giggle. “You know, Grandpa is the funniest person in my family. Actually, he’s the funniest person I know.”

Out of the mouth of a 6-year-old. Giggles abounded all around us as we walked to the car, hand-in-hand. Of course, I agreed with this tiny little human.

Laughter. The spontaneous reaction to a funny joke, comment, incident or event. Laughter can lighten a mood, an environment, a person’s disposition.

Months ago, Hubby Rick and I were playing cards with our dear friends Chris and Rhonda. It’s always guys against the gals with a constant batter about who won last time, when is the other team going to finally learn how to play card, who just table-talked and on and on. One particular night, Hubby Rick wasn’t playing his best game. He’d made a couple mistakes and knew he had. Each time, the rest of us laughed it off. Rick was tired. Had a full day. Just didn’t see what the rest of us saw. When Chris suggested that he couldn’t win if he had to play against all three of us, we literally had to stop playing for long minutes while we laughed. And laughed and laughed. We nearly toppled off our stools as we laughed until we cried.

It felt so good to just belly laugh. For no reason at all. Sadly, it felt like it had been a long time since I had laughed that hard. Because it had been.

If you’ve ever spent a few minutes with a 4-year-old, you quickly notice that laughter is part of their regular language. It’s spontaneous and silly, infectious and life giving. The average 4-year-old laughs about 300 times a day which equates to about 19 times an hour. Once every three minutes.

Maybe this is why it is such a joy to be around 4-year-olds?

The average 40-year-old? They laugh like four times a DAY.

It’s not just the number of times a day that kids laugh that makes the difference. It’s how they laugh. Their entire body becomes part of the laugh. A little giggle grows into a laugh-out-loud laugh which becomes this belly laugh which shakes their entire little body that almost becomes uncontrollable giggle and laughter all mixed up into one. As the giggles die down, one small comment and the laughing spell starts all over again. Believe me. I’ve witnessed this with the funniest grandpa and his favorite spectators.

Yes, I am not the funny one in our household. If the kids (or basically anyone) wants a laugh, it’s more likely to come from the male resident at our address. All the grandkids know it and honestly, so do the rest of our families.

Do I wish there were times when I was lighter? More fun? Less responsible and more spontaneous? Of course. I don’t want to be in competition with Hubby Rick as the funniest person in the family. I am very happy he has this badge of honor. I just know there are times when his attitude is more memorable and fun than mine.

And it’s OK. We are to embrace who we are, how God created us and the different perspectives of life we have. And yet . . . wouldn’t a bit more laughter in my life be great as well?

Of course. When I think of the person who makes me laugh the most, honestly, it IS Hubby Rick. He puts words and thoughts together so differently than I do. How he tells a story is completely different from me. His attitude that laughter is the best policy in all situations, even when it may be borderline, hum, unhelpful. Yes, sometimes, I have pointed out that being funny in this particular situation didn’t work. I remind him that there are times when laughter or being funny may offend or hurt another person. Maybe even me.

And yet, even in those times, I wish I carried more things with a lighter grasp. That I could find a place where being serious with an air of lightness is possible.

Do things feel heavy to you lately? Well, they do to me. Recently, I realized that I need to embrace things that give me hope. Help me see that there are seasons of life that simply feel more challenging than others. And yet, these times are simply that: a season. We all need hope. The promise that there will be day when things feel a bit lighter again. Not so daunting and discouraging.

In the meantime, what can we do? We can laugh. Multiple times a day. A big old belly laugh that brings tears to our eyes and almost knocks us off our stools.

Find a reason to laugh today. Give yourself a reason to laugh. Be the funny person that causes others to erupt into spontaneous joy. And then, high-five each other. It was a good day, a good laugh and you discovered a bit of hope, if only for a few moments.

 Blessings –

Dianne

Holy God – Thank you for the gift of laughter. Of discovering not to take ourselves so seriously all the time. For joy that comes when we find reasons to celebrate even when a season feels difficult and daunting. Help me discover those opportunities to giggle, laugh and share joy with another human being. Amen.

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Looking for a bit of daily inspiration? Check out my daily affirmation posts on Facebook and Instagram (Dianne Deaton Vielhuber and Simple Words of Faith.)

Attend one of my upcoming book events!

TODAY Sat, Apr. 15 – I’ll be at Main Street Books in Reedsburg from 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM celebrating Independent Book Sellers Day