The late Bob Benson once wrote that, when his kids grew up and left home, he and his wife would sit and listen to the "laughter in the walls." I love that phrase.Do the walls of your home ring with laughter? Laughter and strong homes go together. A Christian couple should sooner be found guilty of having too much laughter than of having too little. Fun lifts us out of the daily ruts and assassinates the drab, the boring and the mundane. Laughter lightens loads and knits hearts together instantaneously.
God gave children a funny bone and giggle-box to balance all of those who are "overly intense." He gave our family kids who love to laugh, especially our daughter Rebecca. She lives to laugh. Her beaming smile and giggle is the all-time best. And when she gets going at the supper table, pandemonium breaks loose. Her giggle-box infects us all with uncontrollable, delicious delight. In fact, we've renamed her because of her love for laughter: "Rebecca Jean Joy Susie-Q Rainey."
My family taught me how to laugh. Our home was filled with practical jokes, teasing and surprises. I'll never forget my dad's laugh (the best) and my mom's sense of humor, which is still as sharp as ever. Some of my fondest memories are of laughing so hard the tears just streamed down our faces.
I remember the time my mom gave herself a Hoover vacuum cleaner for Christmas. She wrapped it and put it under the tree with this tag: To my dear wife from Ward.
Life is made up of pain. Disappointments. Pressure. Doubts. Trials. We are all sapped of strength by these dark, ominous clouds. But, like an exploding shaft of sunlight in a dark room, laughter illuminates life by reminding us not to be so serious.
Why not leave a little laughter in the walls of your home tonight?