A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit. Proverbs 15:13
The other day we were in the car and I was reading a book. In it were the lyrics to a song whose words stirred up an emotion in me, and before I knew it, the pup was sticking his face between the seats in order to let me know I needed to get it under control. It wasn’t specifically the words so much as the memory attached to them.
I’ve seen grown men hear a song, and the emotions stirred up were so strong that they needed to walk away in order to get themselves under control. The songs sang at funerals are especially high on the emotional level. It’s really pretty amazing.
I was thinking that if we can create positive emotions that strong to keep in memory banks to pull out whenever we’re feeling low, we’d never stay down for long! I found a need, but how am I going to fulfill it?
How can we mention just a few words in order to draw out a sensation so strong that we can’t help but laugh out loud or get pulled out of that funk we might get into? You know what I’m talking about.
The best I can come up with is time and humor. If we aren’t making memories, there won’t be any memories to draw from in the times when they’re needed most. Also, if we’re always running around stressed and busy, we’ll have a hard time finding the things to laugh about.
I challenge you to simply start the ball rolling in order to go in the right direction. First, relax! What does that look like to you? Is it taking a long walk, reading a good book, going fishing? Next, look for the humor in situations.
All I have to do is take Mr. Nosy (the pup) for a walk where there’s some interesting distractions and watch him become so engrossed in a vehicle that he stumbles over his own feet…or paws…or legs…you know what I mean! I can pull those memories up and laugh when I feel like crying. That’s a big step in the right direction.
Start small and that will lead up to spreading the fun around to your children, your family, or even your friends. Everything is a memory in the making. Let the deposits you make be positive ones that will lift up and strengthen, cause smiles and encouragement, and keep the heart happy.
“Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children.” -Charles R. Swindoll
