When was the last time you laughed uncontrollably? Can you think of a time you just split your gut laughing? Laughter is good for the soul. Laughing makes you forget about everything else going wrong, and it helps your body to release stored-up stress. The more stressed-out you are, the more you need to find people who help you to laugh it out. Who is your go-to person who helps you to belly-laugh whenever you get together?
This week I got to be the designated dog dad. My kids from Indiana dropped off their two golden retriever pups, and it was game-on from the moment that they arrived. Being playful pups, they created every imaginable opportunity to engage in all-out dog wrestling. They jumped all over each other, bit each other in the head, in the ears, all over their squirming bodies, and in the tail. The little pup was the instigator, and it looked like she wasn’t going to survive. But as soon as the older golden backed off of the attack, the little pup used all of its freshly-learned counterbites to get even and to jump on the big one’s head and bite it until it got thumped again. I’ve never seen such aggressive play between pups. When they wore each other out, they fell asleep on each other, and when they woke up, they started all over again. Never a dull moment. It was hilarious!
But it really got crazy when I got down on the floor to pet the dogs. As soon as they saw me hit the floor, it was game-on. All-star wrestling! Two-on-one. Absolutely no rules. The big golden torpedoed under me while the lil’ pup jumped on my head and went after my bald head with her puppy teeth. Every imaginable tactic that they had used on each other was doubled on me. I was attacked from every angle. As soon as I got one down, the other dive-bombed me. I was laughing so crazy hard that I felt like one of the animals at the zoo. Those crazy little pups brought out all my dog-loving, boyish playfulness that’s never buried too deep under the surface. I can’t tell you how many rounds of two-on-one that we played in the past three days, but I don’t think that I ever won.
In a time when everyone seems to be paralyzed with fear and focused on all of the bad things happening in our world, we need to find some new healthy outlets for all of our stress. Whenever I get stressed out, I become even more crazy and playful. I probably drive everyone nuts, but I go out of my way to playfully engage with everyone around me. At work, my office manager just looks at me and says, “Glenn, go to your room.” That’s when I know that I’ve been having way-too-much fun and that not everyone is enjoying it.
When I’m working with kids and families who are so stressed out from negative or anxious thought patterns, sometimes I’ll make them wear my poop emoji light-up hat or to wear my jumbo-sized Goofy slippers until they improve their thinking and lighten up. Laughter is good for the soul, and our souls can become overburdened with pain and problems.
When God sees how we stress ourselves out and get organized around all of the wrong things, I wonder what He thinks. Why are you so downcast? Why not put your trust in God? Not only does the Lord reach out His hand waiting for us to let Him lead us, He also already knows what He’s doing through our challenges to forge and form His character in us. Sometimes it’s so hard to get outside of ourselves and get over ourselves to see what God is doing above, in, and around us. How does God get your attention when you’re overburdened or taking yourself or life way-too-seriously?
How thankful I am for the people that God brings into my life who get me out of my funks and pull me out of my dark caves. I’m so thankful for the kids-of-all-ages around me who pick on me, play with me, help me to see what I’m missing and need, and get me laughing again. Only God can turn mourning into dancing through Jesus’ death and resurrection and by using all of His creation to get us laughing when we’ve lost our laugh. God must be a playful, laughing God because He knows when and how to bring the right people, animals, and crazy circumstances together to get us laughing when all that we want to do is complain, get angry, worry, or cry. What an amazing God we serve!
Thanks to all of you for lifting my spirits, getting me laughing again, singing again, and remembering what’s most important when I forget or take myself and life way-to-seriously. I’d be lost without my spiritual community. We get better and accomplish so much more when we laugh, work, play, and pray together.
What’s the funniest thing that happened to you this week?
What’s the dumbest thing that you did this week?
Who got you laughing again this week?