Laughing at Life

A cheerful heart is good medicine. --Proverbs 17:22

During the early 1980s I attended a resident executive education program at the Harvard Business School. Lonely for Patsy, my wife, I asked her to fly to Boston for a weekend.

We painted the town. The highlight for us both was an evening at the Boston Pops with John Williams conducting. The atmosphere was electric as the audience sipped wine, munched on chips, ate sandwiches, and waited for the concert to begin. I had reserved famulous seats right in the middle of the floor about ten rows from the stage. Perfect!

The seating hostess led us to our seats. The waitress came. We ordered our sandwiches and coffee. We chatted with the two ladies sseated at our table. Patsy looked radiant in a beautiful silk skirt and blouse. A few minutes before the concert was to begin we both decided on one last pit stop.

As Patsy and I stood, her slippery silk skirt slid across her slippery silk slip and landed down around her ankles. Patsy's horrified eyes grew into giant saucers. Stunned to a crimson red, I managed to blurt out, "What in the world is going on?"

Patsy grabbed up her skirt and we bolted out of there! One in the hall, tears of laughter began to stream down our cheeks. She had forgotten that she had loosened the button on her tight skirt during our meal.

Too embarrassed to return to our seats, we sneaked into the balcony. The slightly irritated family seated next to us never could understand what wefound so humorous about a Pops performance. And we sure didn't tell them!

God has given couples no greater gift than the ability to laugh at life together. The joy of sharing humorous secrets and private jokes breathes energy into a marriage.

Some of these tales bear repeating. I cannot begin to tell you how much mileage we have had from our Boston Pops story with our kids, our parents and our friends. It always produces raucous howling.

Yet, as much as others enjoy this story, no one will ever enjoy the treasured experience as we do. We were there! And no one can ever take the adventure away from us.

Even our faux pas and embarrassments can make a merry heart. If we don't let our pride get in the way and go with the flow every experience can be a source of growing more deeply in love with one another.

DISCUSSION:
Both answer: What has been your most humorous moment together as a couple? How does that shared experience bond you more deeply together? What are some other humorous experiences you have shared?

Application:
Let the humor in your life become family folklore. Share a humorous experience with your children, parents, and close friends at the next opprtune moment. What other humorous experiences can you share? Don't hesitate to tell them over and over again. Who knows--you may create a legend!

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You from the bottom of our hearts for the precious gift of humor. Thank You for the laughter you have allowed to grace our marriage. May we always treasure our most humorous experiences. May they be a blessing both to us and to our family. Most of all, we than You for giving us to each other. Amen.