"A Good Laugh
For the Day"

Could you use a good laugh today? And do you ever just ask the Lord to delight you, because you need to have your soul lifted? These times seem so stressful and rushed on so many different levels, and I think we must “lighten our loads” by enjoying the simple joys that truly are all around us. The other day I asked God if He would give me just one week to show me different things or different ways that would bring a smile to my face. And did He ever come through for me!

Driving to work early in the morning, I glanced over at the school bus and saw a mother with dog in tow watching two boys (I assume one was hers) press their foreheads against one another’s. There they stood with heads pressed, staring each other down as if they were two long horned stags exercising their strength and strutting their dominance. I can only guess where these young boys’ imaginations were taking them, and what their mom was thinking. That was my first smile.

My second smile was more like a good old fashion belly laugh. My daughter and I were recalling a time when we were watching the TV show, “My Big Redneck Wedding”. During that episode there were two guys in the groom’s kitchen talking about baking a 10 layer cake for the wedding in the groom’s oven. One guy thought the cake was going to be baked with all layers at one time. In his very thick southern accent, he said, “Whell, how begs ya’ oven?” It was one of those moments when you looked at each other and can’t believe what was just said. Maybe it’s one of those moments you have to have “been there” to really get the full humor of it, but we still get a chuckle each time we remember. To me, it’s a smile for the day!

While traveling back from a two hour drive alone in my car and lost with my own private thoughts, I looked up to see the wonders of cumulus cloud formations. It was then that one of the shapes put a huge smile on my face. There he was, laying on his back, Gimli the hobbit, from JRR Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings”. He was big as ever with a grey beard a mile long. Did the Lord give that just to me? I think it left me with a heart warmed and smiling for the rest of the trip.

The last smile I will mention (but certainly not the last one for that week) was for the one who greets me every day at the door. We have a dog who offers up the sweetest, most crooked grin. I don’t think there could be an uglier smile a dog could give with his crinkled nose and baring his pearly whites. I know this is his best effort to please his owner with something that resembles a smile. You have to love the way dogs will greet you with such enthusiasm and tail wagging excitement, whether you have been gone for 5 minutes checking the mail box, or returning after a five day absence. To a dog, I think it is all the same.

A cheerful heart does good like medicine,
but a broken spirit makes one sick.
Proverbs 17:22

The Lord loves each of us so dearly and would like for us to be whole and filled with His joy. He knows how we may battle with our emotions and He wants to delight us with Himself, even with small delights that are all around us in our every day. I for one wrestle with sadness and need to be aware of the happy things He brings my way. I believe He would want us to be more in tune to those small joys, as well as the “big ones”. We as Christians always have our hope in Jesus right now and we look forward for eternity that awaits us soon, but can I challenge you today to be more aware of the small things, the sweet things that are so easily missed with our busy and stressful lives? You too can ask the Lord to help you smile more, help you see all the little joys that surround us daily… and be thankful. It is so darn easy to see all the faults in people or all that is wrong with the world—but let us open our eyes and heart to the best in others and watch for those small simple pleasures. What a true blessing our own soul will treasure.

May it be our desire that we be women who live in the present and are aware of the world around us. May we take notice of the blessings God gifts to each of us, and always long to hear His whispers. Shall we also pray with a more purposeful focus on God’s will? And as we stay connected in our relationship with Christ, we will become more thankful followers. Let us commit to doing this together! Close your eyes…Open your heart, let God’s Spirit empower you today.