Joy Breaks for Couples - Hardcover

Dr. Lawrence J. Crabb Jr. (Ph.D., University of Illinois) is a well-known speaker, author of numerous bestselling books including Finding God, and Men and Women, and distinguished scholar-in-residence at Colorado Christian University in Morrison, Colorado.

You’ve Got to Be Joking! Les and Leslie Parrott A cheerful heart is good medicine. Proverbs 17:22 Do you two need a tissue?" a voice gently whispered from behind Les and me (Leslie). We were sitting in a theater watching a somber play when — at the saddest moment — something struck the two of us as funny. Hysterically funny. You see, just at that moment Les found a withered old banana in his coat pocket. Who knows how long it had lived there, and he set this surprising discovery on my knee. Caught off guard by the incongruity of the banana and the play, I developed one of the worst cases of the giggles I’ve ever had. Les quickly caught the same disease. We tried desperately to stifle our laughter, but as we bowed our heads to hide our faces, we couldn’t keep our shoulders from shuddering. An older woman behind us, thinking we were moved by what was happening on stage, offered us a tissue for our tears, which made us laugh all the more. When Les accepted her kind offer, I really lost it and had to leave the theater. Just another day in the marriage of Les and Leslie? Not quite, but we do laugh a lot together. The tiniest things can sometimes set us off — an inflection or a knowing glance, a funny line from a movie, or a faux pas in front of others. We have the same funny bone and can’t keep from using it. No wonder we enjoy our marriage. Laughter does that. Any good friend will tell you that laughter is the shortest distance between two people — especially in marriage. But from time to time, our humor is out of sync. Les has a small band of friends who don’t think twice about busting him in the chops every now and then in the name of good-natured ridicule. And it always makes him laugh. Sitting around a table at a late-night dive after a basketball game, one of them might crack, "Hey, Les, we were all impressed by the spineless prayer you call a jump shot." Which brings the inevitable retort, "Yeah, it’s about as good as the serious medical disorder you call a golf swing." Well, it didn’t take Les more than once to figure out this kind of humor doesn’t work in our marriage. I say it’s a guy thing. All Les knows is that nothing bonds buddies together like a little needless needling — as long as the buddies are guys, that is. Humor can backfire if we aren’t careful. But one thing we know for sure, laughter is good medicine for every marriage. Literally. Research has shown that people with a sense of humor have fewer symptoms of physical illness than those who are less humorous. Perhaps that’s what Proverbs 17:22 is getting at. But the benefits of humor extend beyond our physiology. The Bible reminds us many times and in many ways to bring the "sounds of joy and gladness" (Jeremiah 7:34) to our homes. Proverbs says, "The cheerful heart has a continual feast" (Proverbs 15:15). The psalmist sings, "Our mouths were filled with laughter" (Psalms 126:2). Isaiah exults, "Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth" (Isaiah 49:13). Jesus told his disciples that after he left them, "your grief will turn to joy . . . and no one will take away your joy" (John 16:20, 22). The apostle Peter confirms that the Christians to whom he is writing "are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy" (1 Peter 1:8). So let laughter fill your home. And celebrate your friendship in marriage by lightening up and enjoying a good laugh together. Watch a silly movie with each other, share the Sunday funnies, tickle each other’s ribs, play practical jokes. Or go to a play and yuk it up while everyone else is crying.