Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Laugh, Cry, Pray!
Recently I was visiting my Mother at Cumbernauld Village. As I was leaving I ran into George Lowe. His mother had recently moved into the facility. We were lamenting the direction of our mothers’ health. As our conversation ended George remarked that when dealing with these kinds of issues he tried to laugh, cry, and pray. The more I thought about it the advice was not only good for where we were with our mothers, but just about everything that happens in life.
Doctors have long held that laughter is good for us. Readers Digest has a section called “Laughter is the Best Medicine” and wise King Solomon wrote “a cheerful heart is good medicine” in Proverbs 17:22. Laughing is often contagious. People seeing others laugh get involved despite often not knowing the topic at hand. At the end of a good laugh everyone feels better.
My prior district manager once told me that while we are involved in many serious activities it is important not to take ourselves too seriously. Sometimes the most laughable situations are those we get into because we “do dumb.” We can either let these times get us down or have a good laugh and move on. I’ve had several laughs at myself over the years.
The ability to cry is also very important. For much of my life the conventional wisdom has been that real men don’t cry. When our girls were young we would watch a television show with a sad ending. The girls and their mother would have tears running down their faces. To me it was just a story. My wife often said she hated to see what would make me cry. That time came in August, 1989 when my dad passed from this life.
Crying is also a good release of the emotions and seems to clear our sensory system. We cry not only for loss or bereavement but also for joy or in appreciation. Often when we are surprised in a positive way many respond with tears. We get involved with someone crying and tears of compassion flow.
I remember several years go seeing a sign “Prayer Changes Things.” My experience over the years validates that message. Prayer is as much an attitude as a specific event. It is the recognition that a power larger than us controls all the events of life. We can pray selfishly but are more effective when our petitions are in behalf of others with needs.
What is the power of prayer? James, the writer of the New Testament book wrote “the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” In other words the power of prayer is enormous. I know that my Grandmother’s prayers were often and powerful on my behalf. Thanks George I’m glad we had our brief conversation. When the stresses or joys of life come, as they certainly will, I plan to laugh, cry, and pray!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Great story and thoughts to remember. Thanks Chuck!
ReplyDelete