photo by D. Sharon Pruitt
I shut the door of my car and safe in that space, I cry the ugly cry. The mascara-smearing-nose-running-people-at-stoplights-are-staring cry. When I get home, I text a wise friend who knows me well. “It will be okay,” she reassures me, “Come out to dinner with us.”
The promise of food lures me out from my house again like a bear from her cave. Then the unexpected happens. We start telling stories about the embarrassing moments in our lives {I have plenty of those}. And for the second time that day, tears stream down my face.
But this time it’s because I’m doing the mascara-smearing-nose-running-people-at-other-tables-are-staring laugh.
Later that night I realized God graciously gave me exactly what I needed. Sometimes our hearts don’t need a sermon or a study. Sometimes they don’t need something “spiritual” at all. What they need is to laugh. I wrote this in my journal that night…
Laughter is a form of worship. It’s our soul’s way of saying, “I surrender to being human.”
God knows we are human. We’re the ones who tend to forget. Laughter is one way He reminds us. It changes our perspective, helps us move forward, opens up our hearts again. It’s “good medicine” for the heart {Prov. 17:22}.
Laughter that comes from a place of humility and grace is holy and healing.
We all need our daily dose–and sometimes a little extra.
XOXO
Holley
p.s. What has made you laugh the hardest lately?
