laughter? I am not asking if you experience lots of good times. Of
course we should laugh during the happy times. But do you also laugh
during the difficult times?
Erma Bombeck is known for her humorous books, but she wrote one that
covered a more serious topic: cancer in children. The book is titled,
I WANT TO GROW HAIR, I WANT TO GROW UP, I WANT TO GO
TO BOISE (Harper and Row, 1989). Erma talks with numerous children
with cancer and learns important life lessons from them. She learns,
for instance, that cancer survivors know how to laugh.
She cites the experience of 15-year-old Jessica from Burlington, VT.
Jessica's leg was amputated at the knee because of cancer. She was
learning to wear a prosthesis. Jessica tells about playing soccer. She
kicked the ball hard and it flew off in one direction while her
artificial leg flew another way. Then "the tall, gorgeous person that
I am," she said, "convulsed on the floor in laughter."
Jessica may not have laughed about her cancer, but she laughed about
dealing with the consequences of it. And her laughter helped her cope.
Then there is the story of 17-year-old Betsy. She made her way to the
radiation room for her regular radiation therapy. As usual, she
dropped her hospital gown and, wearing only her birthday suit, climbed
onto the table and waited. After a couple of moments she began to
realize something disturbing: the extra people in the room were not
the medical students she had thought, but rather painters giving an
estimate on painting! Betsy laughs heartily about the incident. And
like Jessica, her ability to laugh helped her to cope with one of the
most difficult things a young person can endureacancer.
The Bible reminds us that "there is a time to weep and a time to
laugh." Do you find plenty of occasions for laughter? You can...if you
also find reasons to laugh during the especially difficult times.
Survivors of all kinds usually know how to laugh! If you can laugh
even when the going is rough, you'll have plenty of laughter your
whole life long!
__________
Steve Goodier Publisher@... is a professional
speaker, consultant and author of numerous books. Visit his site for
more information, or to sign up for his FREE newsletter of Life, Love
and Laughter at http://LifeSupportSystem.com.