What we laugh at may sometimes seem a bit absurd, but it is good for the soul. Laura shares.
“Looking at His disciples, He said: ‘Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh'” (Luke 6:20-21).
We were a small group of two at first until others slowly arrived. Nothing unusual to have late arrivals as circumstances get in the way.
Eventually we filled out to five women. A small group, nevertheless, as more than half the members could not attend.
We come together in prayer, praise, and request. We are a HopeKeepers group joined together because of chronic conditions. We garner strength from being together and praying. We reflect, support, and share. But on this day we mostly laughed.
Laugh: “to make the spontaneous sounds and movements of the face and body that are the instinctive expressions of lively movement.”
We laughed when the nurse told of her escapades trying to help a resident of a facility dress, realizing new undergarments were necessary.
We laughed at another member’s upcoming trip. Her anxiety is serious, but the humor came from her description of juggling a carry on bag, purse, cane, and CPAP machine as she takes three flights to a sunny destination.
This brought about tips for traveling from others and more humorous stories. One member’s husband called the airport trying to locate his wife. “She walked away,” said the attendant. This person has multiple sclerosis and has not walked in years.
There was no disrespect just a group of friends laughing about absurd situations. We did not follow the agenda I set for our meeting, but it was good to realize that despite our life situations, we find humor.
The group included members with new physical challenges and family stressors. And we supported one another. To an outsider our conversations may have sounded odd. But it felt necessary.
The act of laughing is a remarkable stress reliever. And it felt good, because dealing with chronic illness can become depressing. We all have trials but God will see us through. But there are serious issues to this life–and sometimes when you get a group of caring people together you have to step back, breathe, and laugh.
Prayer: Dear Lord, bless these beautiful HopeKeeper members and all affected by chronic illness. Give them comfort and strength and help them remember it is good to laugh sometimes. Amen.
About the author:
Laura Seil Ruszczyk lives in New York with her husband of 27 years and her three children. She is a retired elementary school counselor who currently runs a HopeKeepers group at her church. She has dysautonomia, the deregulation of the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system controls such invisible functions as heart rate, blood pressure, breathing and temperature control.
What makes you laugh?
I could not agree more. Laughter is important. If we can laugh at ourselves and our situation, the burden doesn’t seem so heavy at times. There is comfort in a group of people who truly understand. May God bless your Hopekeepers group because with God, there is so much hope!
This is a great reminder Laura, that God made us to laugh and laughing together is so much better, than on our own!
For your HK group to be seeing the funny side of illness challenges and knowing they are not alone with them, must let all of you go home feeling lighter and blessed for making the effort to get out.
May God continue to guide your meetings – even when they don’t happen to use what you’ve prepared 🙂
Blessings,
Fiona
Laura, I laughed as I read this. I totally agree with you that laughter is good for us. As you said, it’s a stress reliever and aids our bodies.
Sometimes I can laugh at myself and my struggles, but most often not.
The gals who met for your Hope Keepers session must be comfortable with each other. A perfect atmosphere for laughing or crying.
I say, Amen to your prayer!
Grace & peace,
Beth
How wonderful that your HopeKeepers group were all able to laugh WITH each other in the crazy situations that illnesses can create! It was wonderful to read about the session you enjoyed together. 🙂 What a gift it would have been to them all. May God continue to guide, encourage & bless your HopeKeepers group.
I’ve found laughter to be soooooo important in coping with illnesses day in, day out! I’m blessed to have a hubby with a whacky sense of humour, so he keeps me laughing! I’m really thankful for that, as laughter is also beneficial to our bodies. Bring on the laughs!! 😀 LOTSoluv Kerryn
Laura, I so enjoyed this devotional message!
It’s so very true, that joy and Spirit of Laughter brings much healing. Even when we know the situations we are laughing at are not always humorous at the time, its good to reflect back & laugh at the circumstances.
My new ( also small HK group ) is finding the same. I’m so grateful for those who are coming and we are learning together to laugh, love and gather hope from our Lord. Thank you for starting my day with a smile today!!! Love you friend!!
Di
Oh I love to laugh, and laugh often! My family often provides good laughter for one another! One thing I find helpful is to tape old TV show like Lucy, or Carol Burnett, to watch when it is rough and the day (or night) is long.
I am so glad your Hopekeeper group is comfortable together and can laugh. What a treasure!
Hugs, Sandy