The following is an excerpt from a book called THE HARLEY CHRONICLES; Everything I learned about marriage on the back of a Harley. By Sarah Huxford (Women’s Pastor at Compassion Christian Church)
This is a section where Sarah shares how she and her husband Cam faced her season Breast Cancer together.
Laughter became a goal for every celebration. I learned that lesson the hard way. I will confess I have always been a snooty laugher. I’d kind of put my nose in the air and look at you sideways as if to say, “This better be good…I don’t laugh at just anything.” Being married to a very funny man I would often be asked, “How can you not laugh at him? I’d be laughing all day long.” Let’s be honest, no one has heard more jokes, or the same jokes more times, than pastor’s wives. As I sat in my predictable spot every Sunday, I would often have people tell me that they couldn’t wait for my reaction to Cam’s jokes. Their favorite was the rolling eyes and shaking of my head, followed by “The man is not right” for those close enough to hear. Yes, I realize how mean and unsupportive that sounds (that’s why I am confessing).
It became even more obvious that I had this problem when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. After much reading to try to get my head around facing this dark season in my life, I came across some advice that was very helpful. The suggestion was to laugh every day as you go through treatment. There were many scientific reasons given that had to do with the good things being released in your brain during laughter. However, my heart simplified it to a verse that my preschooler quoted like this: “A cheerful heart is like goooood medicine.” His rendition of Proverbs 17:22.
Cam and I decided that I would take laughter breaks every day, just like medicine. Knowing what you do now about the kind of laugher I am, you realize he had his work cut out for him. I would get very intense some days as I read and worried and prayed. I would think to myself nothing can make me laugh today. It’s impossible. But my husband would amaze me daily. The heights that man reached to pull out his best stuff, and more amusingly the depth to which he plunged to make me laugh, will forever warm my heart. He would bring home silly or stupid stuff for us to watch and keep all the sad movies away. I had no choice. I just decided to be a laugher. It was either that or my husband was going to hurt himself trying to turn me into one. Settling my head on his chest, as his bass voice chuckled at whatever Barney Fife was saying, I found the release of great laughter. I’ll never go back.
Guest Author Sarah Huxford for: Tina Torres, CEO, The Gratitude Specialist
