Laughter

I love to laugh. I love romantic comedies, comedic books, I Love Lucy, jokes of the day, irony, satire, and wit. I love one-liners and 'zingers'. I love what I call internally-visual comedy. It's the kind that makes you picture the absurd situations the characters are in. Patrick McMannus is a comedic writer who is a master of this, just ask Angela. He makes me lose my breath laughing.

British comedy cracks me up. Mr. Bean especially. Barry lent us his Mr. Bean dvds after my surgery but I couldn't watch them because it hurt to laugh that hard. Monty Python: The Holy Grail is a favorite. It's the only movie I can think of that, if you ask someone if they've seen it, their answer is to quote their favorite lines. Which is usually half the movie. My personal favorite is "Help! Help! I'm being repressed! Come see the violence inherent in the system!" That makes me giggle even now.

My family loves to laugh. As a little girl, I remember trying to fall asleep in my bed at my Nanny and PawPaw's but failing because my family would be laughing SO loudly! I grew up around it. But Kim has what is called "inappropriate laughter". She really does. It's funny to me. If she's really nervous or intensely sad, she just starts laughing. It's quite bizarre when it happens. But it usually brings about a relief to the tension in the room. Like Dolly Parton says in Steel Magnolias, "Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion." That, by the way, is my favorite movie quote.

Stop a minute and think about laughter. We all know that it feels great, and I'm sure we've even heard the verses in Proverbs about it. But if you really think about it, it's kind of mystical. If someone is feeling out of place, it can make them relax and feel included. It also produces a chemical reaction in our bodies. Endorphines are released. Science has proven that people who laugh a lot are basically healthier. Laughter improves heart health, lowers blood sugar and blood pressure, improves the immune system, lowers stress, makes bones heal faster, etc. I find all that amazing. Why did God make us that way?

Everything that God has created points us to Him. Laughter is no different. When I laugh, it's because I'm enjoying something. And if I recognize that all good things come from God, that He is not impassive but very active in my life, then in that moment, I'm enjoying Him. I am acknowledging His presence and love for me, and it releases me to savor Him. That's what Jon Piper calls 'Christian Hedonism'. Glorifying God by enjoying Him forever.