Growing up I was a jokester, laughing easily and often. I was happy. For the most part, life was good. As an adult, I went through many difficult years and as a result I ended up losing a lot of my laughter. I became a shell of what I used to be. I walked around without joy, without happiness, and without my trademark smile that I had always been known for.
I lost my laugh. I lost my joy.
Just like me I am sure that your life can get overwhelming at times too. It can become easy to get bogged down in the enormity of it all. You can forget that among all the bad things going on that there really are some – and usually many – bright spots. Sometimes in life you have to let yourself unwind, relax, and refocus on all the good things that are happening. Even though life can be hard, we should never forget that we are truly blessed and that we cannot give up or give in to the craziness around us. We have to find joy in the small things in life and remember how blessed we really are. Our focus needs to be on the positive things in our lives.
We have to remember that our joy is not in our circumstances, but that OUR JOY IS IN THE LORD!
After working through the painful parts of my life, with God’s help, I started finding my happiness again. Life was not perfect, but I realized that true joy does not depend upon what is going on in my life. Real joy depends on my relationship with God. I will never forget when my laughter really came back. I felt alive again! I wanted to remember all the blessings that God had given to me from an early age, and so I started writing these true stories from childhood which I call REAL.
As you read them, I hope you too will laugh and remember some of the funny times in your life. So go ahead, laugh with me, and remember the good things that God has done and will continue to do for you.
Just For Laughs by Laurie Bosley, 2003 copyright. All rights reserved.
