In my book, Laugh Like A Kid Again, I say that laughter is a windshield wiper. It won’t stop the rain, but it will keep you going. I have yet to meet someone who has lived through tough times—even a pandemic, war, cancer, divorce, and the death of a loved one—who says, “Laughter didn’t help at all.”
Interestingly, a recent study found that people rarely laugh alone. Yet they are six times as likely to laugh in the presence of another. And thirty times more likely to laugh when in a group. What helps you laugh? Here are a few ads I’ve seen in newspapers:
For sale: Bulldog, will eat anything. Loves small children.
Used Cars: Why go elsewhere to be cheated? Come here first!
One Saturday, my friends Kurt and Lynn were strolling a busy mall. They agreed to part then rendezvous in two hours. At the agreed-upon time, at the agreed-upon spot, Lynn spied Kurt coming. A mischievous grin tugged at the corners of her mouth. Sneaking up behind him, she pounced on his back, and just because she’d always wanted to: she bit him on the neck.
Now, if you’re going to do this, make sure it’s your spouse. Unfortunately, it wasn’t Lynn’s. She tried to explain herself to the poor traumatized man. The more she spoke, the less he believed her. This poor, sour-faced guy turned and fled, leaving Lynn standing there, the focal point of a sell-out crowd of fellow shoppers. Then the fantastic happened: Kurt arrived, listened to her story and, standing in that crowded mall, two grownups began to laugh. They laughed like kids until they could hardly stand up.
When the children of Israel were set free, “Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy, then it was said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’”
For 25 years it’s been my privilege to entertain audiences with humour that is rooted in hope. Few thrills are as exhilarating as watching people laugh. This happens only when we realize that regardless of what we’re experiencing today, we have nothing to fear and everything to hope for as we put our trust in the God in whose presence is fullness of joy.
Have you been bit in the neck lately? May the day come quickly when you’re able to laugh again.
