Parenting and Religion

Laughter, what a wonderful thing. Have you ever seen somebody laugh, and you don’t know what they are laughing at, but seeing and hearing them laugh makes you laugh too?
Have you ever just laughed until you cry?
Can you always remember why you laughed so hard at something, or does it not seem quite as funny later?
Do you let yourself enjoy life, and laugh?
Have you ever felt silly watching a funny movie alone, and laughing right out loud?
Do you allow humor to enter a grim situation and give you a laugh?
The Bible says “A happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.” (Prov.17:22, Amp.)
I have to admit, I used to not let myself laugh at myself, or any situation that seemed serious to me, such as hollering at my kids (yes, even I do that once in a great while).
I have come to the point of no return now though, I have decided to laugh. I know I have always had such a serious outlook on life, so much that I was being robbed of having fun sometimes, because I would not laugh along with others. Now, I look at life as something that God gave us to enjoy, and that even God laughs with us at times. If He can laugh, then all the more reason for me to laugh.
I was trying one Sunday morning to get all the kids (all 8 of them) out of the house on time, and I was fighting a cold on top of that. Some of you know how hard it can be for everyone to be ready to go anywhere on time- so you can relate to this.
Dan isn’t here Sunday mornings to help, He is at church getting ready for the service.
As I was reaching the boiling point, I yelled “OK, everyone out to the van! I AM leaving NOW!”
All of a sudden all of the kids started laughing at me, and I said “What’s so funny??!! That we are going to be late AGAIN??!!”
Then my 16 year old son said “Mom, your voice sounds like a boy’s whose voice is changing. I said “It does NOT” with the “NOT” screeching to a high pitch.
“Oh my goodNESS!” I said, screeching again.
We all laughed all the way to church. When we were going in the church, one of the kids said “Mom, don’t sing too loud today. People might think you are going through puberty.”
That made me laugh even more.
I know it sounds silly to some who have never let themselves laugh at themselves, but to me it helps life to be more fun, more free, more full of life.