Proverbs 17:22
A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
Lately I have been spending a lot of time at my own party (pity party that is). The reasons have been many and varied, but the bottom line is, my "bones" were dryin' up. I needed a merry heart.
One day recently, when I was feeling especially sorry for myself, I tried to remember the last time I had a gut-wrenching laugh. I struggled. The most recent incident that came to mind was almost 10 years ago. Pathetic! I HAD to do better than that!
All day, I wracked my brain, and that night I posed the question to my husband: "When was the last time YOU had one of those hilarious moments?" I was surprised that he answered so quickly, "Last week." I sure wasn't there! Then he told me all about it and had me giggling. I told him what I was struggling with and he helped me remember some more recent laughs. That was the best conversation we had in weeks, maybe even months.
I'll share one of my recent laughs with you. My friend Grace and I took our kids to the San Diego Wild Animal Park. We had a difficult start. It took us over an hour to get the car seats, stuff, and kids into her car. When we got there, it was infernally hot. Baby C was screaming and would not ride in the stroller. Grace almost passed out, so we stopped to eat. The kids were whining and rambunctious. We did not see any animals for the first 2 1/2 hours, because we were "regrouping". My "bones" were dryin' up again! But it's hard to feel down when Grace is around. She has an amazing ability to laugh in the face of chaos and plans gone awry.
We decided to go see the lions and then call it a day. We watched the "baby " lions for quite some time (they were the size of St. Bernards.) Then, we were in the PERFECT position to see the 2 year old male lion that was brought out! He came out ROARING and was not happy about being awakened from his nap. I was snapping photo and video left and right. He seemed to calm, then did something completely shocking: (watch this 40 second video if you dare)
Mad Lion from Mama C on Vimeo.
Ok, so I realize that it is probably gross and a little immature to think this so funny, but after that "incident", my heart became "merry" again. We were energized and stayed several more hours and had an amazing time.
I am so thankful for this and many other ridiculous moments that I can laugh at. It's not that I feel the need to laugh all the time, but to me, the laughter is like seasoning that brings out the flavor of life. My life needs a lot of flavor right now. So I'm finding those moments and pouring it on.
What laughable moments have you had lately? Please leave me a comment, so we can be "merry" together today!
Labels: deep thoughts, fun, laughter, outings, photography, summer
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Thanks. Been needing to laugh more.
Anonymous said...
July 13, 2008 at 8:49 AM
Clara, that video is hilarious. I can't believe you got in on film. You can tell he so did that on purpose.
What a much needed encouragement I think to all of us mommies. You know, Jeff and I were talking recently about laughter and having a sense of humor and how that is one of the greatest weapons against spiritual warfare. There is so much truth in that. If we would just quit taking ourselves so seriously..! And when we can just "laugh it off" the devil has no room to put a foothold there. Then it was amazing and the Lord started showing us so much what it means when He says the JOY of the LORD is our strength. And how Jesus endured the cross because of the JOY that was set before Him. (Hebrews 12) So, I REALLY needed this reminder today because I just so happened to forget all those things that I just said God had showed us last week about joy and laughter! It can be such a struggle just to keep things in perspective throughout all of the mundane duties of life. But for those moments that we do have the right perspective, and we are filled with laughter and His joy is our strength...how much fuller and more abundant life can be!!
Here's a funny story about Isaac:
In the 4yr old class there was a little boy who wanted to hold a little girl's hand. But she would have nothing to do with that. So the little boy was crying about it. Then Isaac gave him some great advice: "I wanted to hold her hand too, but she wouldn't hold my hand either...so I wouldn't worry about it."
Anonymous said...
July 13, 2008 at 11:31 AM
Okay, I got a smile when I saw your e-mail today, but I got a great laugh watching that video! Oh so funny. Yes, I need to lighten up a bit. It's hard in the race of it all, but so important. Thanks for the reminder and the laugh to get it all started!!
God Bless You Clara!
Amy said...
July 14, 2008 at 11:19 AM
Oh, wow! Thanks for the laugh. What a rare moment to catch on film. LOL!
Genny said...
July 14, 2008 at 12:23 PM
HI Clara,
Thanks for your last post. I think we all have those times when we feel we're in a rut and it's hard to find the humor in things. the video made me laugh! I also appreciate what Rachael had to say.
Last night I was leaving my in-laws house from a late night of birthday celebrations and as I was walking out the door Micah, Debby Van Settens son, was standing just outside the door waiting to scare his brother. I caught a glance of someone standing there and it made me jump! He gave me a good laugh and made me realize how uptight I must be.
Being around friends helps me to unwind. So I would love to get together soon!
Tonia said...
July 15, 2008 at 9:35 AM
hi clara, it was good seeing you at vbs. Thanks for the blog. it's so good to hear that it's normal when we feel just out of it. we sometimes look so good in the outside and really we feel terrible in the inside so when i got you email. i said " Praise God" there is a mom just like me.thanks for the vidoe. God only knows i need it. LOL! mary
Unknown said...
July 15, 2008 at 11:36 AM
Hey, you can't help but laugh at that!! I sure did!
Laughter has a way of being very therapeutic and I think the more we get the better.
I had a good laugh this weekend. We were in a family kickball tournament. Our 13 year old son kicked the ball, and it was a great kick. He rounded first and wiped out. Got up, went to second, then to third, and again, he wiped out - crashed into the dirt. It was so funny, not once, but twice. And he's usually pretty "balanced".
Lance said...
July 15, 2008 at 7:24 PM
Thanks for stopping by!
Genny
Genny said...
July 16, 2008 at 12:46 PM
Oh my goodness, that caught me totally by surprise, I expected a big roar or something, lol....
The lions at the Kansas City Zoo today were pretty quiet and just resting in the shade. We went early too, hoping all the animals would be more active.
It was a lovely day and not too hot which is not normal around here especially in August. We have had an unseasonably cool summer which is very rare, but fine with me.
Belle Adorn said...
August 26, 2008 at 4:08 PM