A Merry Heart!
"Blessed are you who weep
now, for you shall laugh."
Luke 6: 21
When William K. Vanderbilt visited Constantinople,
he invited actor Coquelin the Elder to perform
on
his yacht. Days later, Coquelin received a check.
Vanderbilt paid $2,400 “for laughter, twelve
times.”
Orison Marden, who told that story, said,
“Laughter begins in the lungs and diaphragm, setting
liver, stomach, and other internal organs into a quick,
jelly-like vibration, which gives a pleasant sensation
and exercise, equal to that of horseback riding.”
Most of us worry more than we laugh. Remember,
“A merry heart does good, like medicine” (Proverbs
17:22). In Luke 6:21, Jesus promised laughter to
the weeping.
We’ll enjoy many laughs in the cheerfulness
of heaven, but don’t wait until
then. Cultivate
a merry heart now. Instead of focusing on
what might be, focus on what will be.
Cheerfulness is knowing God has
us today, and tomorrow under His
perfect control.
"Mirth is God’s medicine.
Everybody out to bathe
in it."
Henry Ward
Beecher