Have You Lost Your Laugh?

You know, it's not often that SpongeBob can be an inspiration for something, but today the episode that is playing behind me as I write this involves Mr. Squarepants losing his laugh. Now, if you know anything about SpongeBob, you know his laugh ranks just above fingernails on the chalkboard on the irritate-o-meter. It got me to thinking though. We adults sometimes have the tendency to lose our laugh. We take things waaaay to seriously. We need something. Let me tell you about what happened last year during a stretch of time where we had 3 days in a row of snow days (this was in VA, where at the least suggestion of snow, everything stops).
I am beginning to appreciate snow days. Now don’t get me wrong, they are a hassle and a major interruption to my schedule as much as the next person’s, but I am beginning to appreciate them. By “appreciate” I mean being able to do something we adults don’t normally do on snow days: PLAY! Kids get this principle easily. You tell them there’s no school, they cheer (literally in my house), they run to the closet, find their winter paraphernalia and run outside. No time for anything important, let’s play, they say!
It took me a day to get out there because, well, I just was enjoying not having to get up the first day and besides, there was this good book I was reading. The second day I went out with my kids to our street (we lived at the top of a steep cul-de-sac) and made myself a human projectile down the slope! What fun! It reminded me of the times when my friends and I in seventh grade used to inhale our lunches, run to the hill beside our school, sled on a piece of cardboard covered with a garbage bag for a half hour before returning to class. What fun! What freedom! No responsibilities! Just play. I found a little bit of that last year due to my new found appreciation for snow days.
It reminded me of a well-known verse, Proverbs 15:13: “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.” This saying that a happy heart can cure some things. Are there some ailments in your life that a good day outside playing with your kids can cure? The look of pure glee on my then six year old as she flies down the hill is enough good medicine for me! Although, my kids received some good medicine as well watching old guy dad wipe out in the snow! Another translation of Proverbs 15:13 goes like this: “A cheerful heart brings a smile to your face, a sad heart makes it hard to get through the day.” Don’t just trudge through another day. Go out and play. Find your laugh again!