Thankfulness

“Enter his gates with Thanksgiving.” Psalm 100:4 NIV

As we enter this month of November, our hearts turn to Thanksgiving. This holiday, celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday of this month, evokes a feeling of wanting to pay homage to God for all He has done for us.

I sit here thinking of the prolonged time I couldn’t laugh. Nothing during that period caused me joy. And then, I was invited to attend a Praise Gathering in Indianapolis. A friend had a group of ladies going with her but one of her relatives from the southern part of our state was unable to go. The event is a gospel sing type event with Christian comics, Christian recording artists all performing for the better part of three days. There are workshops for the attendees to learn about ministry.

The main comic who ‘got through to me’ really made me do deep belly laughs. I almost had tears in my eyes. The second night of our stay, my friend who invited me came to me and said, “It’s been a long time since I heard you laugh like that.”

This made me think. “Yes, it had been a long while since I had been able to laugh.” I decided then, laughter is a gift. That year when we had our Thanksgiving eve service, when it was my turn to name five things I was thankful for, I mentioned being thankful for the gift of laughter. I also shared with them the fact that some things had stolen my joy and I was thankful to have found it again.

This evening, I am remembering times with my husband and his friend from childhood. We were together last evening, There were 10 of us really enjoying each other’s company and very thankful we were able to be together. It was a joy to be with these dear people.

But, for me, I am thankful for the JOY, and the LAUGHTER. Experts say Laughter releases chemicals into our brains that bring about good feelings. Readers Digest Magazine used to call one of its departments, Laughter the Best Medicine. Maybe we should all look for something we can be joyful about and laugh over.

Let us all look for the gift of joy in our lives. It is His gift. Then we will be able to express that gift back to him through our laughter.