Tonight is mPact. I won’t stand…errr sit here and tell you that it hasn’t been a challenge lately. For the most part I absolutely adore each and every child I get to visit with on Wednesday nights. They each have a personality that makes me smile as I watch them try to find themselves during play time. But, I miss my counterpart. I miss the camaraderie we built and the fact that she always knew how to fix things.

It isn’t to say I don’t. They mostly listen to me when I have to put my foot down. It’s the not really wanting to put my foot down that is the issue. They have the saddest faces when I scold them. It breaks my heart.

Anyway, that isn’t what I really want to write about. I already know I’m a softy. I’ll have to eventually get better at saying no. I get it. I will. But, until then I still want to talk about those kids.

I’ve been thinking a lot about everything that has happened since last May.  And, I want to talk about how my kiddos have helped impact my healing. I know I’ve talked about how much they have brought healing but, I wanted to talk about how their laughter has helped change my life.

Have you ever realized how much laughter – I’m talking about good, hearty laughter, the one that comes from deep inside of you – soothes the soul? Every time I think about it I think about the passage that says, A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones (Proverbs 17:22). There is a song I learned when I first gave my heart to God. I can’t for the life of me remember it. But, I loved it. Because it’s true.

You see, laughter can help change your life. Here is how laughter has helped change my life.

By helping me to not be so serious. Like, I continuously had a resting b face. I probably still do but maybe it’s more gentler? I don’t know really. But, I realized that life likes to throw you lemons and it’s how you deal with it that makes all the difference.

By learning to laugh at myself. Thanks to a girls weekend to Lynden I have learned to dance around my house. And listen, I NEVER danced around my house. Like ever. I don’t know how. But, I do it because first of all, it’s fun. And second of all, it makes my heart happy. Third, it makes my husband laugh which in turn makes me laugh.

By finding a good way to de-stress. Sometimes I’ll go on YouTube and find something funny to watch. Like animals doing crazy things. Or the latest Wipe Out.

By helping me to combat depression. I’ve not been shy about my depression, though I know some people wish I was. But, listen, hiding my depression allows it to get the best of me. I think I’ve done a pretty good job at kicking depression in its ass this last year. Going to Wednesday night mPacts, even when I don’t want to, to laugh at the antics of preschoolers changes things.

There is probably more ways that laughter has helped change my life. But, honestly, it really just comes down to wanting to be happy. I want to be happy. I want to have a merry heart.

Do you want to be happy? Then what are you doing to have a merry heart? If you’re a laughter scrooge let me share in some ways to brighten your day…

  • Allow yourself to laugh. Maybe make it a priority? Read corny jokes on the internet. Watch your dog play with his toy. Take action.
  • Make your friends laugh. Or have them make you laugh. Laughter is uber contagious. There is a reason why watching babies laugh makes people laugh.
  • Use your face and smile. I’m so serious here. Stop being grouchy poo. Turn that frown upside down! (I really can’t believe I actually used that.)
  • Game nights! Oh, you don’t do board games? Well, go anyway and get over yourself. I bet you you’ll have fun watching all your adult friends make total fools of themselves. You’re welcome.
  • Learn to laugh at yourself. This was the biggest thing for me. I always was the stoic girl who had to have everything just so. I was too busy to have fun. I was too busy to make friends. I was too busy to live. Once I learned to laugh at myself life became an adventure.

Tonight, during mPact those kids will run around doing the craziest things. They’ll have these active imaginations that see life in a different way then a mere adult. And even if I am tired, I’ll head to mPact with the sole purpose of hearing them laugh. Because, in the last year, their laughter, and the laughter of others, have helped me claw out of some pretty dark places.

And I’ll continue laughing, dark or not, for the adventure. xoxo