Why I Laugh

The 31 for 21 blog challenge for Down syndrome awareness month continues. Today is scripture Sunday.

Here's a scripture I have used in prayer often:

A merry heart does good, like medicine,
But a broken spirit dries the bones.
Proverbs 17:22

I have had many opportunities over the years to be upset. The challenge of taking care of a child with developmental delays and many health problems is sometimes very difficult. The post traumatic stress after one of Jaycee's hospital admissions is hard for me to put into words. There are times when my spirit feels broken. So I pray for myself. I pray that I will have a merry heart.

When Jaycee got out of the hospital this summer, I wisely asked for prayer from someone on the ministry team at church the first time I was able to attend church afterwards. My spirit was broken. I was worn out physically and emotionally from that hospital admission as I once again faced the idea that Jaycee's future wasn't guaranteed.

The prayer started out with me crying sobbing. And it ended with me laughing. I don't know why, but the prayer spoke to me. I did feel better. I felt like laughing, so I did. Immediately, the prayer partner said, "You keep on laughing! Satan thinks you have nothing to laugh about, so every time you laugh it confuses him."

Wow! I laugh all the time for no reason. I laugh when I'm nervous. I laugh at times when I'm mad. In the past couple of years, I have learned to smile and laugh as I'm trying unsuccessfully to get Jaycee to obey me in public while I'm screaming on the inside. I laugh a lot. People who know me have told me that I laugh easily.

Now, when I laugh, I have a new reason to keep laughing. It's my joy. It's my victory. It's part of my testimony. And it's medicine for my spirit.