There's Healing in a Good Joke
Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was saidamong the nations, "The Lord has done great things for them." Ps. 126:2, NIV.
I awakened in the early-morning hours feeling really sick. As I lay in the darkness, I could hear the strange night sounds of the African village nearby, still new to me six weeks into our mission term in Nigeria. I knew this pain was something new, for I was experiencing what seemed like those last excruciating pains before childbirth, and I definitely was not pregnant.
Creeping out of bed, I quietly made my way to the refrigerator, where we kept a bottle of malaria pills. We had been told that at the first sign of malaria a person should take six pills to make the attack less severe, but alas, I found only one pill. Swallowing the tablet, I headed back to our bedroom, where my husband lay sleeping. Finally I awakened Gary, told him what I thought was happening, and asked him to put a blanket over me. In the darkness he tossed a cover over me, but that only created a new problem. For the first time in my life, I could feel every wrinkle. When I asked him to smooth out the wrinkles, he too knew I was in trouble.
At sunrise my husband went to get the doctor. A few minutes later Elena arrived, and as Gary greeted her, she asked, "What can I do?"
Without missing a beat, he replied, "I think you should shoot her." He immediately laughed when he saw Elena's horrified face. Realizing the double meaning behind his words, she promptly gave me the necessary treatment to endure and survive my first bout with malaria.
During our years in Nigeria, Elena often laughed at Gary's jokes. Gary's ability to see a funny side in almost every situation has helped make many strangers become friends. His humor not only draws people, but it has helped bind our family together. Humor has added enjoyment to our everyday life and has often lifted our spirits during rough times. God wants us to enjoy life to the fullest, and I'm thankful to have a special dose of humor in our home.
Can others see that the Lord has done great things for you? Try to sprinkle a little more humor and laughter into your life, and maybe they will.
I awakened in the early-morning hours feeling really sick. As I lay in the darkness, I could hear the strange night sounds of the African village nearby, still new to me six weeks into our mission term in Nigeria. I knew this pain was something new, for I was experiencing what seemed like those last excruciating pains before childbirth, and I definitely was not pregnant.
Creeping out of bed, I quietly made my way to the refrigerator, where we kept a bottle of malaria pills. We had been told that at the first sign of malaria a person should take six pills to make the attack less severe, but alas, I found only one pill. Swallowing the tablet, I headed back to our bedroom, where my husband lay sleeping. Finally I awakened Gary, told him what I thought was happening, and asked him to put a blanket over me. In the darkness he tossed a cover over me, but that only created a new problem. For the first time in my life, I could feel every wrinkle. When I asked him to smooth out the wrinkles, he too knew I was in trouble.
At sunrise my husband went to get the doctor. A few minutes later Elena arrived, and as Gary greeted her, she asked, "What can I do?"
Without missing a beat, he replied, "I think you should shoot her." He immediately laughed when he saw Elena's horrified face. Realizing the double meaning behind his words, she promptly gave me the necessary treatment to endure and survive my first bout with malaria.
During our years in Nigeria, Elena often laughed at Gary's jokes. Gary's ability to see a funny side in almost every situation has helped make many strangers become friends. His humor not only draws people, but it has helped bind our family together. Humor has added enjoyment to our everyday life and has often lifted our spirits during rough times. God wants us to enjoy life to the fullest, and I'm thankful to have a special dose of humor in our home.
Can others see that the Lord has done great things for you? Try to sprinkle a little more humor and laughter into your life, and maybe they will.
Used by permission of Health Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.
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