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| source: Flickr |
One thing I’ve learned since marrying my husband is that I tend to take life too seriously. I love to laugh, but I tend to get bent out of shape if things don’t go the way I “perfectly” imagine them. I found an article from Focus on the Family about laughing with your spouse. Now, I realise this is directed at married couples, but singles can certainly gain from parts of the wisdom imparted in this article. The part that really hit close to home for me was, of course, about not taking life seriously. Here is the excerpt of the article:
Two prime ministers are sitting in a room discussing affairs of state. Suddenly a man bursts in shouting and stamping and banging his fist on the desk. The resident prime minister admonishes him. “Peter,” he says, “kindly remember rule number 6,” whereupon Peter is instantly restored to complete calm, apologizes, and withdraws. The politicians return to their conversation, only to be interrupted yet again twenty minutes later by a hysterical woman gesticulating wildly, her hair flying. Again the intruder is greeted with the words: “Marie, please remember rule number 6.” Complete calm descends once more, and she too withdraws with a bow and an apology.
When the scene is repeated a third time, the visiting prime minister addresses his colleague: “My dear friend, I’ve seen many things in my life, but never anything as remarkable as this. Would you be willing to share with me the secret of rule number 6?”
“Very simple,” replies the resident prime minister. “Rule number 6 is ‘Don’t take yourself so seriously.'”
“Ah,” says his visitor, “that is a fine rule.” After a moment of pondering, he inquires, “And what, may I ask, are the other rules?”
“There aren’t any.”
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| Leon and I enjoying the train ride from Leuven, Belgium |
The lesson here is lighten up. Don’t take life seriously. Laugh and find joy even in the stress and dark times in your life. I’m thankful that God has given me a husband who can bring this out in me!
