Laugh A Little
This week’s guest blog is written by my new friend Joanna Eccles. I recently attended the Flourish Writer’s Retreat online and connected virtually with several inspiring women, one being Joanna. We both love encouraging fellow believers in their journeys with the Lord. I pray her words bless you.
Find Reasons To Laugh
I went to a picnic with families from my church. The children ran around the grass, laughing and giggling to themselves. Their happiness was contagious and soon the adults joined in with hearty ha-has.
One of my friends at the picnic is a kindergarten teacher. She noted her students laughed throughout the school day. It took the tiniest thing to amuse them. The kids would make funny eyes at each other and clamor to hear the same knock-knock joke over and over, which they found hilarious every time. She already kept an eye out for beauty, but realized she needed to attune her life to joy and especially laughter.
With all the anxiety in the world today, a good laugh is therapeutic. Proverbs 17:22, “A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones” (NKJV). When we laugh, it improves our brain and bodies. Laughter releases happy endorphins in our minds that soothe our heads and leave us relaxed. Deep belly laughs act as a mini-workout to tighten our stomach muscles, circulate blood flow, and reduce blood pressure. Stress levels go down as the joy levels increase.
Season Of Joy
Maybe you are in a season of sadness. You spend your days crying and laughter seems like a joke. Cry out to the Lord as David did in Psalm 51:12, “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit” (NKJV). Ask God to give you hope and return you to a season of joy. He will uphold You in His Hand.
Take heart, Jesus said in Luke 6:21b, “Blessed are you who weep now, For you shall laugh” (NKJV). Even though you are bawling now, laughter lies ahead of you.
Psalm 30:5 says, “Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning” (NKJV). Days of joy are still to come. This too shall pass. The light will dawn and depression will cease.
An easy way for me to fight depression is to force myself to laugh. Even fake laughter helps me feel better. The mind cannot tell the difference between canned laughter and the real thing. So even if I don’t want to, when I laugh anyway, my brain gets all the healthy benefits.
What Makes You Laugh?
Do you binge watch 80s sitcoms with a laugh reel? Perhaps you watch silly cat videos. Maybe you look at old photographs of yourself as a child. My one friend’s laughter is so contagious, I roar with laughter whenever we inhabit the same room. Find a good friend to laugh with, buy a book of comics or jokes, and surround yourself with things that make you happy. As long as you laugh at yourself and not at others, you are doing well. Keep looking for the laughter and attune your heart to joy.
- What makes you laugh?
- Please share some clean jokes below so we can laugh with you.
Meet Joanna
Joanna Eccles Words from the Honeycomb (www.wordsfromthehoneycomb.com) to share sweet words that encourage people to know and grow in Christ. She has led Bible studies for over fifteen years and completed the year-long C.S. Lewis Fellows Program. As a writer, Joanna desires to create materials that shape culture by addressing truths in relevant and relatable ways. She can’t wake up without a cup of coffee. Joanna also enjoys traveling, reading, and lives in Virginia.
