Laughing away Lyme

Okay- so maybe you can't exactly laugh away Lyme.  And let's face it- Lyme is no laughing matter.
However, laughing can play a significant role in the healing process.


Norman Cousins wrote a book called Anatomy of an Illness,  in which he talks about the vital role laughter played in his recovery from his illness (along with self-management and high doses of Vitamin C...).  He would spend hours a day watching his favorite comedy shows- laughing. 


Barbara Johnson, a wonderful author, wrote, "Doctors and physical fitness experts tell us that laughter is just plain good for your health.  One expert, who travels around staging workshops on how to be fit, says healthy people laugh 100 to 400 times a day...

I read about a medical doctor who calls laughter "internal jogging."  He says that healthy laughter has a beneficial effect on most of your body's major systems- and it's a lot more fun than calisthenics.  Laughing 100 times a day works the heart as much as exercising for ten minutes on a rowing machine."..."One bumper sticker I saw [stated], 'ONE LAUGH=3 TBSP. OF OAT BRAN' "


Wow- even getting in 10 laughs a day can sound monumental- let alone the minimum of 100 laughs.  But, the principle bids us to consider- how might we encourage laughing into our day? 

There are TV comedy shows, shows on the internet- You Tube videos..., movies from the library, searching of clean jokes on the web, humorous books, humorous friends...looking for humorous things that happen through the day (sometimes we have to laugh or we'll cry!)- jot them down to give a giggle another day...


Matthew 6:34 is a verse a group of us our ruminating over this week- it says "Therefore, do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own."  How true-  and too often we steal energy and joy away from this day- spending it on concerns for what will happen in the future... Even healthy people do this- and those of us with Lyme are tempted enormously to do this, because of the inherent questions of 'future' in living with Lyme...


I love that verse, Matthew 6:34.  It holds much truth.  But, the word at the beginning of it "Therefore" is the key to knowing how to work that verse out in real life.  It points to the verses before it-

³¹ “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ ³² These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. ³³ Seek the Kingdom of God^[a] above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

There it is-  a) in verse 32, trusting in the LORD, that He does know your needs already 
b) seek the Kingdom of God- Seek Him and His ways-- above all else, and live rightly (according to His Word)

Challenges for anyone- but doable, even for Lyme Fighters to live these out, and then- Therefore- tomorrow will take care of itself. 

  Here's a good place to start today~  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQV5xvgt1mE

Blessings-