The Gift of Laughter

Do you know what kind of lights Noah had on the ark?  Floodlights.

Why did Moses cross the Red Sea?  To get to the other side.

How come they did not play cards on the Ark?  Noah was standing on the deck.

So, why am I giving you these dumb jokes?  Apart from the fact that I like dumb jokes, I mean?  Because laughter is a gift from God.  And right now, it’s a gift we all need to accept and use.

We are living in a way that people were not created to live.  We were not created to live apart from everyone.  God put us into communities, and into churches, and into lots of other groups, because God knows that we need each other.  There are people who need you.  And there are people whom you need.  We need to support each other.  We need to encourage each other.  We need to love each other.

And we need to do that all the time.  But it’s harder right now.  For reasons of physical health, we cannot be together for very long, and even when we are we’re supposed to keep an appropriate distance apart.  And that makes it harder for us to be there for each other.

We still need to do our best.  We can call each other.  Some people can even do video chats.  We can use social media to stay in contact.  We can text or send emails.  There are still lots of ways we can be stay in touch.

But the fact is that none of that is as good as actually being physically together, and there’s no point in pretending that it is.  We frequently have video chats with Wanda’s parents, but it’s not the same as being with them.  I call my Mom a lot, but it’s not the same as actually being with her.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad we can do it.  I’m grateful to God for all the technology we have now that makes it possible for us to stay in touch.

But it’s still not the same.  And that’s stressful.  It’s stressful on everyone because, again, people were not created to live this way.  And that stress can get to us.  It can get to everyone.

So, we need to do what we can to get rid of the stress.  Get your rest.  Exercise, if you can.  Eat right.  Do the sorts of things that are good for you.

And find a reason to laugh.  Laughter is one of the best things in the world to relieve stress.  Watch some comedy programs.  Find a joke book.  Find some reason to laugh once in a while.  It’ll help you feel better.  Again, laughter is a gift from God.  Use that gift as much as you can.

By the way, do you know what Adam said to Eve on the day before Christmas?  “It’s Christmas, Eve!”