Lighten Up?

Last month I shared my accident 22 years ago. The extent of my brain injury came after I lied to a nurse about being able to walk.

After using bedpans, I believed I was able to walk to the bathroom. But I learned the hard truth after falling off of the toilet. As I sit here, I can still remember the sound of the echo of my body hitting the floor.

My pride got the best of me. The doctors had said I would never walk again and I was determined to prove them wrong. I’m not sure who I was putting my faith in, myself or God.

After being away from church for six years, I still remembered the promises of God being with me; I knew He was never gone and I prayed don’t let me down (Deuteronomy 31:8.)

I remember lying in my bed and listening to my friends laughing in the hall. All of my hopes and dreams had died and I just wanted to come back home.

But there was still a spark of faith inside me; over time I realized my life wasn’t over, it’s just a different lifestyle. I remember seeing my doctors’ smile as I was rolled out of the hospital on a stretcher face down and butt up, it makes me laugh now.

Laugh?

Being disabled has given me a new perspective on life after coming back to life. I’ve learned not to be so serious and laugh. Especially when I have trouble doing simple things, you never know how much you take for granted until you can’t do it. But, tomorrow is a new day and may be the comeback you need.

You may have heard that it takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile. But in my situation, it was actually the opposite. One of the things I had to relearn during my stay in a rehab. was how to smile again.

Because of the strokes I suffered, the muscles on the left side of my face wouldn’t move. Therefore every morning before breakfast I had to stand in front of a mirror look at my scars and stick my index fingers into the corners of my mouth and pull to stimulate the muscles again so I could feel them.

I did this before breakfast because it also helped me to eat my food without letting it dribble out the corners of my mouth. This killed the little pride I had left after falling off the toilet a few weeks earlier.

I also talked monotone like Forrest Gump and had to listen to my voice on my answering machine to get my tone back and learn how to change the pitch of my voice when I laughed. That’s when I learned the effects of laughter on our brains and bodies.

•In the brain, laughter can regulate dopamine levels and this hormone regulates a lot: mood, motivation, attention, and learning.
•Soothes tension.
•Laughter activates and relieves stress response.

The latter is particularly important in life; because none of us are immune to the stresses of life. In the Old Testament, God’s people faced lots of stress. Even the patriarch of faith Abraham was stressed out about not having children and laughed when God told him he would become a father at 100 years old (Genesis 17:17.)

And then Sarah laughed at the idea of being pregnant at 90. Imagine living almost 100 years before having children (Genesis 18:12.) Laughter was their reward for having faith.

Throughout the Old Testament God’s people struggled, Job faced many trials and lost more than most of us will. Still, he knew God would make him laugh again, he had perfect peace (Job 8:21.)

During the exodus, the people must’ve laughed as they watched God vanquish their foes time and again like a wildfire. Imagine waking up every morning and having bread appear on the ground for your meals.

DiAnn, it would be like heaven on earth to have meat fall from the sky to eat (Numbers 11:31.) I’m sure they laughed because God provided: Freedom, bread to eat, meat to eat, and finally milk and honey (Deuteronomy 26:9.) You’d think they would learn to let go and trust God at some point.

LETTING GO AND TRUSTING GOD?

Recently I became anxious as I approached my annual physical. I forgot all of the miracles of God had in my life. You’d think by now I’d have more faith in God. I can laugh at the devil because there’s a heaven and he isn’t going.

I went to my doctor with questions. He looked over my bloodwork and smiled, after praising me for being in good health, especially with my brain injury. I shared with him my fears and he laughed−welcome to getting older.

I began to remember all of God’s miraculous blessings in my life and I laughed too. But, if I could let go and trust God, then the trials of life won’t bring me down.

Upon arriving home I heard the news of actress Marcia Cross’s anal cancer diagnosis. I laughed when I heard she looks back and laughs at the situation.

How much more can we let go, when God is in our lives? Isn’t this what Israel failed to learn in their walk with the God they claimed to know?

Maybe their pride that made them forget about His goodness. Because every time a new trial occurred, they tried to fix it themselves. It’s funny how God can use the trials to make us better, if we learn to lighten up!