“A good laugh is sunshine in a house” ~ William Makepeace Thackeray
Not many things bring a sense of ease and comfort from the spiritual realm into the present more potent than laughter. Laughter is a gentle way of acknowledging human frailty, and with all the turmoil in the world, who can’t use some laughter. Learning to laugh at ourselves brings healing and comfort to our souls.
We have all heard many comparisons of people to sunshine, e.g., “Aren’t you a ball of sunshine, ” “You brighten my day,” or “When so and so comes in, they always light up the room.” There is tremendous power in those statements. When you can lighten the burden of others with laughter, God is present. I am not talking about laughter at the expense of others, e.g., self-righteous laughter. I am talking about laughing at yourself, confessing your frailties and crazy thoughts, and reminiscing about old times and stories from the past.
There is a rule in the world of recovery; it’s called Rule #62, “don’t take yourself too damn seriously.” Life is too short to be too serious. They also say, “stay here long enough to learn to laugh at yourself.” We must all learn to lighten up and enjoy life. One of the most incredible ways to enjoy life is to illuminate the house you occupy with the sunshine of laughter.
I once had a ninety-three-year-old man named Earl Summers whole told me when I asked him why he is always smiling, “well, a smile is like the sunshine; it always brightens somebody’s day.” God bless Earl Summers and all those who bring the spirit of the sunshine everywhere they go, especially to the darkest and most sordid places on earth.
Where can you share the gift of laughter and help brighten someone else’s life today?
Lord, thank You for the gift of sunshine and laughter. You gave humanity the ability to laugh, so we know that laughter is good. Teach us, Lord, how to share our laughter in a positive way, where we don’t tear down others for a cheap laugh but instead share laughter from our soul, birthed from our trials and tribulations. Please remove any hurts, habits, and hang-ups that prevent us from laughing at ourselves, so we can heal and become the sunshine in the house. In Your Spirit and Name, we pray these things. May Your will not ours always materialize, now and forever. Amen.
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