Write 31: Laugh

{Start.}
In preparation for writing this post, I got to thinking about the different laughs of my family members.  Just remembering them, made me start smiling and laughing myself!  There's the hnck, hnck, hnck of my Uncle Alvin when he laughs, the deep, amused laugh that bubbles out of my Aunt Edna, the squint-your-eyes-and-wrinkle-your-nose full-out laughter when my Dad finds something really hilarious and the clap-your-hands-with-delight laugh of my Mother, and the laugh-until-your-sides-are-hurting-and-you're-crying laugh of Kyrie's.  I remember my Grandmother's laugh how it would sometimes start out high-pitch and then taper down in such an endearing way and also the way she would chuckle sometimes and wriggle her shoulders if she'd made some "typically-her" remark (like how she didn't look cute when she took her teeth out!).  There was the sarcastic/forced laugh of my dear Grandfather when he would be trying to get the grandkids' attention, or the I-can-barely-breathe-or-tell-this-joke laugh of his when he would try to relate something funny he'd heard on Paul Harvey's show.    
  All of my family have their own unique laughs, all which inspire a joy and delight (and usually laughter) in me.  You know, joy is contagious! {Stop.}  The Bible says, "the joy of the LORD is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10).  Maybe that's why we laugh so much: the Lord is our strength.  He holds us together as a family and keeps our lives safe in His hands.  We don't always have great days and we aren't always sunshine-y and laughing, but when we laugh, even in the midst of "life-stickiness", it must come from Him, for He is the Author of true joy!