Last week I heard some sad news from two dear friends. The "C" word is the culprit.
When my mom discovered a tiny lump in her breast a few years ago, she hustled right away to get treatment. Her cancer is gone. But her activism is not. She teaches a laughter class at the senior center in her town. My siblings and I kind of laugh at this, which is not the point of her teaching laughter classes. It's a serious thing, if that kind of thing is allowed in laughter class.
If you Google 'Laughter Class' you'll soon discover that this form of education is not a joke. Laughter classes is downright serious!
My mom must be pretty good at teaching this class. She's got the weirdest laugh. Admittedly I was rather embarrassed by it when I was in Junior High, okay, in grade school. Two incidents stick out in my mind: The San Diego Zoo field trip when she saw the Kookaburra. Not only did she SING the song about the Kookaburra, but then she laughed that loud, embarrassing laugh.
Then fast forward, with many other forgotten examples in between, to 10th grade. I was in the showmanship ring with my sheep. During the quiet judging of my ability I could hear that laugh wafting down towards the ring. Somewhere, up in the stands my mother was laughing her head off about something.
Apparently there is a lot of research about how laughter does promote healing. David in the Bible said that laughter (or a merry heart) was like medicine. If anyone knows that, I am sure David would.
When people I love suffer I want to fix it. Yet I have a long list of failing when it comes to performing miracles. Yet I still offer prayers to God and offer love and a shoulder to my friends.
I am not laughing right now as I think about the pain and suffering that may await my friends. Praying for healing and planning to walk through this journey WITH them.....but when your heart is heavy it doesn't seem like laughter is the best line of defense.
Or is it? I think it's time I learned more about my mom's laughter class.
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