Below is a post from my dear Aunt Ellen who is also one of my best friends. I love her dearly and thank God daily that he put her in my life. l I was so encouraged by reading her post and I know you will be too.
When Amelia asked if I would like to do a blog post for this series, I was honored and then horrified. I don’t write, I read – a lot, but still! So, what’s a girl to do when she wants to be a part of such a big event – PRAY! In the shower, no less, I asked God to show me what to write about. The Lord reminded me of the t-shirt my granddaughter, Lexi, had on when we went to visit Mimi (Amelia) this past Saturday. It reads “Laughter is the best exercise!” One of my favorite scripture verses is Proverbs 7:22, “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit drains one’s strength.”
A joyful heart can’t help but bubble over with laughter, but as I was thinking about this, I was reminded about the people I know who are going through hardships in their lives. How can they laugh? The children of Israel were in Babylon captivity and their captors asked them to sing. Psalm 137:2-4 says “There on the poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion! How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land?”
This has always struck me as such a sad scripture. How can we sing or laugh when our hearts are broken?
Good question!
I know that I should exercise, I have a YMCA membership. I have the time, but it’s boring and I would rather stay home. So, needless to say, I don’t get any physical exercise done. If Lexi’s t-shirt is correct, we have to exercise our laughter. Maybe like physical exercise, we have to purposely laugh. There are lots of studies that say laughter makes people heal faster.
Sometimes in the darkest places of my life, a hearty laugh has been just the thing to break the weight of the load I was carrying. Sara and Amelia have so many stories of laughing in the midst of hard. Often they tell of Amelia falling in the floor and they are laughing too hard to get her off the floor!
Hard seasons come to each of our lives. A good friend lost her son to suicide. She told me soon after that when something terrible and life changing happens to us, we have a choice – to be bitter or to be better. She was choosing better.I am choosing better. I am choosing laughter. I am singing the Lord’s song in a foreign land.
[clickToTweet tweet=”I am choosing better. I am choosing laughter. I am singing the Lord’s song in a foreign land.” quote=”I am choosing better. I am choosing laughter. I am singing the Lord’s song in a foreign land.”]
About the Author:
I’m Amelia’s auntie.
I’m a wife to Lewis and a Mom to Jonathan and Greg. I’m Nena to CJ, Lexi, Emily, Harper and Stella. I’m also a monster-in-law to Jamie and Suzanne.
I love Jesus!
I love a good book and Hallmark movies!
I love a happy ending!
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