There is a time for everything … a time to weep and a time to laugh.

Ecclesiastes 3:1,4

Life is hard … (wear a helmet).  One of my friends loves to say this as they giggle or throw their head back laughing.  The truth is, life IS hard!  It can also be beautiful, thrilling, and amazing!  While we would like to stroll through life never having felt heartache and pain, that just isn’t realistic.  Bad things happen to good people all of the time.  It’s how we choose to deal with it that matters!  Sure, you could sit around crying over things and stay in that frame of mind, OR you can try to find a way to bring laughter into it.  When it seems like it’s impossible to laugh, just try.

Cindi and Hugh talk about a lady that was diagnosed with breast cancer about the same time that a concrete wall fell on her husband at work.  They endured a great deal of pain and suffering, but they lived to tell about it.  AND, they found a way to laugh in the mist of the storms they were facing.  This immediately brought back memories of a visit I had with friends in September.  My friend, Betty, from Oklahoma drove 13 hours to Georgia while I drove four hours from South Carolina, and our friend, Sylvia, drove six hours from Alabama.  We all met up in Georgia to rally around our dear friend, Debbie, who was just recently diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer.  While we were all emotional upon hearing this news, we knew that we had to make this trip to support our friend.  I am happy to report that the weekend of September 12, 2014 was spent with these beautiful ladies laughing and having the absolute best time ever!   Sure we could have sat around crying all weekend due to what was happening to one of our dear friends that is really more like family.  Yet, we chose to find something to laugh about all weekend long.  We did not focus on the bad news; instead, we focused on lifting our sweet sister up and encouraging her with our love and laughter.

Think of how things can improve in your marriage if you do this very same thing with your spouse.  Instead of getting upset over a situation, see if there is any way to find humor in the situation.  I’m not suggesting that we laugh all the time when it’s certainly not appropriate, but there is a lot to be said about finding some good in a bad situation and laughing instead of crying!  Laughter truly IS the best medicine.

We have been through some very stressful things in our marriage.  In life, we have been forced to deal with tragic situations that threatened to steal every bit of joy and happiness in our lives. We have felt shattered and as if we would never be the same again, and honestly, we won’t.  But, instead of remaining down and wallowing in self pity about the situation or letting depression consume us, we try really hard to find a way to smile and even laugh.  I have said before that I am as silly as I am because life is just too serious.  I don’t want to be serious all the time.  I want to be as silly as I possibly can because that is the most fun!

We cannot control what happens in life.  Oh how I wish we could because things in my life would be a LOT different if I could.  But, God has a plan, and we just have to trust in Him.  He knows best.  He knows what the future holds, and He knows what He’s saved us from by having things go according to His will and not ours.  The only thing you can really control is how you respond to situations.  You can cry and remain in that frame of mind forever, or you can try to lift yourself up out of that pit and find something, anything to laugh about.  Even the most silliest of things – it doesn’t matter – just throw your head back and have a big ole belly laugh.  Be silly.  And ENJOY every minute of it.  Who better than with your spouse?!

When tension arises, find something to crack a joke about.  It’s even better if there is an inside joke that you share that no one else will know about, yet it will bring a smile to your face and that of your spouse.  What I especially love is to be as silly as I can with my children, too.  They don’t want parents that are always on their case.  There is a time to be strict and enforce all of the rules, and then there are times when you have to cut loose and just laugh with your children.  You don’t want them to look back and think of you as a warden, tough as nails not letting anything slide.  You want them to look back fondly at their childhood and remember the good times, the laughter, the fun you had together, and the love that you all shared.

When was the last time that you remember laughing together with your spouse or with your children?  Find something to laugh about TODAY!

Join us tomorrow for … Splurging On Each Other.

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