The Grateful Heart: Laughter

Yesterday, I attended the Veterans' Day ceremony at Toyota. Smiling, waving children from one of the daycare programs entertained with animated singing. They were so cute that we all smiled and laughed, not because they were humorous but because of the joy inherent in the presence of happy, singing children. 

Later, I had a meeting at my accountant's office. I needed to file a report online but didn't know how to access the form to complete it. In just a few minutes, the form was done, fee was paid, and we were finished. We laughed, not because it was humorous, but because it was so much easier than either of us had expected.

When I returned home, the Wonder Dogs were so happy to see me that they ran in circles around me for so long, I thought they might collapse from exhaustion. They tumbled over each other and played like puppies. I laughed again.

I was reading in Genesis 17 today and came to the pivotal passage where God made His covenant with Abram and changed his name to Abraham. He also told 99-year old Abraham that Sarah would bear a son. Abraham "fell on his face and laughed".  (17:17)

All that laughter reminded me of one of my mother's favorite verses. "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine." (Prov.17:22)  

Last year a research article from Loma Linda University offered "proof" that God's word is true. This was a tiny study done on 20 healthy, older adults.  Half the people watched funny videos. The other half sat quietly and talked. Salivary cortisol levels (stress hormone) and a short-term learning test were given at intervals. The cortisol levels went down and both learning and recall improved in the "humor" group.  

I didn't need a study to convince me a good laugh is good for me. For today, I'm grateful for the cleansing, healing power of laughter and thanking God that even the silliness of life can be used for great good. 

Go ahead. Laugh until you feel better. 

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photo courtesy of freeimages.com

In case you missed any of the past week's posts, here are the links: Maggie: Eye Protection, Maggie: Wanting Eye Drops, Grateful Heart: Superheroes and Missions Conference , The Blessings That Were Not,  Loss of Power, and Grateful Heart: Veterans.

The most read posts of the past week: The Grateful Heart: Orchestration of God

Here are two more posts on laughter: Blending Laughter and Laughter that Hides Tears.

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#laughteristhebestmedicine #laughter #stressrelief #gratefulheart