He stood on my porch holding a brown paper sack. As he handed it to me, he simply said, “I heard you needed some support.” I reached into the bag, and pulled out a small box – it was a jockstrap.
It had been a long few days. My sister had just lost her battle with cancer. We had cried more tears than I thought was possible. The day was dark, and our hearts were full of sorrow. When he heard the news, he decided to come over. When I opened that bag, and heard his comment, and saw the jockstrap, I laughed, and I laughed hard.
It had been so long since I had laughed, and in those moments after my sister’s death, I honestly could not see myself laughing again. Pain and sorrow was all I could see, and in that moment, more than a hug, more than some trite words, I needed to laugh. I need to know that I could laugh again, that life would continue, and that we would get through this. It took a lot of guts for this friend to bring me a jockstrap, but it was exactly what I needed (the laugh that is), and I have no doubt that God told his man to bring this to me.
As I began this new journey with Parkinson’s, I found that I needed the same thing. In the days and weeks after diagnosis, it was, and has been, a struggle sometimes to see the good. Emotions ran high, and often sorrow and hurt surrounded us. We cried many tears, shared many fears, and many days struggled with what to do. It was easy to get discouraged and frustrated, and I discovered very quickly that I needed to face this like I had everything else in life, and that I needed to find joy and humor in spite of this diagnosis.
I began looking for jokes, memes, and any kind of humor that would help me find my joy and laughter in spite of a very discouraging diagnosis. As I searched, I found an amazing comedian; one who has struggles as well, but has found a way to laugh in spite of these circumstances. Below I have included a clip:
The Lost Voice Guy, as he calls himself, is one of my new heroes. He has reminded me of the truth found in Scripture, “A merry heart does good like a medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22) So much of my ability to walk through this or other challenges of life is directly related to my attitude on the journey. Scripture talks about the joy of the Lord being my strength. My joy does not come from life circumstances but in spite of them.
Even in the darkest of moments, I can find joy, and I can find laughter. Every one of us has situations in our life that make it hard to find the joy. We all have events that make us wonder if we will ever laugh again. Yet in these struggles, we can laugh and we can find joy; sometimes we may have to look a little harder, but it is there. What support do you need today? What can you laugh about in spite of your challenges? Attitude is everything, and laughter really is a good medicine.
Laughter is good medicine.
ReplyDeleteWhat did the dog say when he stepped on the sand paper.
Ruff, Ruff
I love these kind of jokes. Laughter truly is important.
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