Tucked into my hymnbook is a rather seldom sung hymn. Under the subtitle “Renewal Transformation” is a relatively new song simply entitled ‘Give to Us Laughter” written by Walter Farquharson in 1974. For beauty and depth it stands solid with the ancient hymns from centuries past. On the second Sunday after Easter some faith families celebrate Holy Humor Sunday, a day that we can laugh at life and death, knowing that the Easter story proves the defeat of death and the promise of a life after the body dies. This is one of my favourite Sunday’s. We share cartoons and intersperse the service with good clean jokes. We are reminded that both joy and sorrow, laughter and tears are gifts from God’s good hands.
    That’s the intro folks!
    Once again I am privileged to play with babies and toddlers and many ages of little people. There is something so contagious about a wee one’s honest laughter. Whether playing the age-old peek-a-boo, or blowing raspberries on a baby’s bare tummy, hearing them laugh, that deep belly shaking laugh, brings me to laughter as well. Repetitive foolishness, of which I tire before they do!, can produce wave after wave of chortles and deep laughter, the eyes crinkling at the corners, the head thrown back… such delight. There can come the stage of the foolish giggles… those gaggle of girls going into spasms of laughter, and please, dear God, not at a meal table or when we are trapped in a moving vehicle! They feed off each other’s energy until nothing is sacred, and nothing can stop them. When I am in a good headspace I find it endearing… not always there though!
    One of the verses in the hymn says ‘even in sorrows and hours of grief, laughter with tears brings most healing relief.’ A number of years ago I received a most kind thank you letter from a family member with whom I had met to create a fitting farewell service for a loved one. As the family shared stories about the life and antics of their father, and the wife recounted adventures shared with her husband, laughter and tears moved among us. The kind words thanked me for allowing laughter to flow for with it the healing had begun. Isn’t that a wonderful thought? ‘Why do we worry that we will lose face, why act like king for the whole human race?’ Mr. Farquharson surely understands humanity.
    As adults, time spent with those we trust, allows us to laugh with others and at ourselves. Personally, as I age, there are more moments when I choose to laugh at situations I find myself in– did you know there is a skill to getting up off the floor? Those old hips and knees need help! Time with friends and shared laughter refreshes us. That never changes. Spending time with our elders, we find it has been a good visit when we can bring a smile to their face, and a great visit is we can share laughter, usually at a revisited memory, often from childhood.
    Here’s to an abundance of laugh lines!