Keep Your Footing
“Man, when you lose your laugh you lose your footing.”
~ One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
There was a time in my life, between college and theology, that I was an orderly at a local hospital. When I went back to school, I often worked vacations at the hospital as an orderly. It was a real gift to me as it taught me how to minister to people in the times of their lives that they found themselves brought low. It also gave me a keen perspective on what families endured during hospitalizations as well as the toll on the doctors, nurses, and other staff members who took care of patients.
One of the things that brought us through difficult situations was laughter. On break or at lunch, you could hear laughter among groups of nurses, aides, and orderlies. The laughter might be based upon the macabre. You wouldn’t think that people could laugh about blood and guts and other things that happen in hospital rooms with patients; but, there it was. We would talk about some of the horrific things that we were going through and laugh at the lunacy of it all.
To the outsider, one might have thought that we were cold and callous. That was not the case, though. We cared about our charges quite deeply. That laughter was the only thing that kept us sane in some occasions. It would help us to get back to the floor and care for the patients once again.
I think about that while on social media in these present days. There are many memes on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other platforms that can be said to be too earthy, too pointed, too selfish, or whatever. Yet, each and every one of those memes are being put up there for one reason: to make people laugh. We laugh at the senselessness of the person hoarding toilet paper or hand sanitizer. We laugh at the craziness of the people who are going out for idiotic reasons. We laugh because it breaks the tension building up inside of us and gives us some release. That release helps us to better focus on what it is we need to do.
People often have a lot to say about the short passage in the Bible: “And Jesus wept.” They think about the emotions that Jesus, truly human, displayed. I can only imagine the times that He was gathered with His followers while fishing or gathered around a campfire, and laughing at the things that the crowds said or did. For that matter, I can only imagine Him chuckling more than a fair share over how we are dealing with the order to stay at home and how so many people are doing all that they can to avoid it.
If you are feeling cooped up, if cabin fever has hit, and if you find that it is becoming harder and harder to focus on prayer, do yourself a favor. Pull out an old comic book or go to Netflix or one of the other streaming services and watch something hilarious. Laugh. Break the tension. Then, you can get back to the seriousness of life around you this day.
FAITH ACTION: Don’t lose your sense of humor today. It helps you to remain firm in your resolve.