THE PRESSURE VALVE RELEASE OF LAUGHTER

The Pressure Valve Release…

Have you ever seen on a car radiator that gets overheated (whether in person or on a movie or something), when that cap is released how all the built-up pressure comes out with tons of force in the form of steam?

What about one of the instant pots that at the end of the cycle you turn the little thingmathing and all the steam comes out so hard it’s audible?

Humans are really no different.  There can only be so much pressure built up, whether good or bad, and the pressure needs to be released.  Today we are sharing about one way to release that pressure..laughter.

Have you ever been in a really tough situation and all the sudden someone around you makes a bad (or good) joke or says something off the cuff meaning well, but it comes out funny and then all the sudden the air is a bit lighter and you even find yourself laughing?  

It doesn’t mean the situation is funny…quite the opposite..it means the burden was just lessened, if even for a millisecond, because of the unexpected gift of laughter.

Well, we definitely have been and I’ll share one of those many moments with you as an example.  You will probably start to realize just how weird I am after this…we shall see if you stick around or not. ha!

This is all about the Pressure Valve Release of Laughter!

The Story

It was after my 3rd miscarriage (and in the midst of caregiving for my completely paralyzed mom) and I had to go in for a 2nd d&c for this pregnancy. The first d&c somehow only got the huge massive blood clot which is what killed my little one in the first place. And left my precious baby in there. 

This was the most dangerous miscarriage we experienced and at one point (this is when we discovered my precious little baby’s body was still inside me and I was becoming septic) I passed out and woke up on the bathroom floor. My children were leaning over me asking if they should call Daddy.  They were very young and I had just taught them how to call Daddy.  They did call Daddy and when I woke up again, he was there. 

It’s all a story for another day, but suffice it to say, it was a touch and go situation that The Lord walked us through, but it left me in a dark place mentally, emotionally, and spiritually that took me years to recover from much less talk about out loud.

So, there I was, feeling like a shell of a human, and a very crappy mom as I had the inability to be a place of life and protection for my little baby. 

I was feeling like my body was more like a tomb and a place of death than a safe place of life.  It was a very hard time for Todd and I and I don’t ever wish any of that on anyone (even though I know there are plenty of us out there). 

Anyway, I was in a dark place as I lay in the hospital bed in the gown feeling anything but attractive.  I felt ugly, dark, betrayed, lost, angry, and yes, even hopeless.  I hated the world for the fact that it kept spinning.  I hated that people kept on about their business when my precious little one was gone.  All I wanted to do was cry and be left alone.

But God has a way of knowing just what we need and when we need it, 

I am so thankful for my best friend who also happens to be my husband and that he is my opposite in every way (which is good since I get on my own nerves much of the time).  So, knowing me as well as he does (better than anyone on the face of the planet), and not only watching me suffer, but him also feeling the pain and sting of death and loss, he somehow was led to do what needed to be done.  

OK, let me take a little sidebar here (you know the kind where I look into the camera and explain part of the backstory and then we go back to the story like I never did that, but you had to know it for the rest of the story to make sense…that kind).  That was the time that the whole candy commercial with that song about “I work out” was popular and going around everywhere.  We loved those commercials and were always doing that song together making each other laugh. 

So, Todd leaned into me as close as he possibly could and as he saw the tears filling up my eyes about to pour down he said (with his whole demeanor changing to complete goofball) “Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle”.

It shook me right out of my present reality and mindset.  I absolutely. lost. control.WITH LAUGHTER.Like uncontrollable laughter so much so that he caught it (you know that kind of infectious, undeniable, contagious laughter) and the techs came to check on us to be sure everything was alright.

So, we turned our volume down, but once I got tickled with that, I couldn’t stop.  Guess what was happening? 

Instead of the tears (which are also a great pressure valve relief too so don’t get me wrong) that in that case probably would have swallowed me whole and I wouldn’t have been able to stop, the laughter was releasing all that built up fear, anxiety, anger, betrayal, lonesomeness, and more. 

Then, thankfully, we had a Doctor that got our “weirdness” and when she came into the room, we shared with her our goofiness and she smiled and told us to carry on then!

So, as I was lying on that stretcher being wheeled into the Operating Room once more, knowing the drugs were about to kick in for me to be unconscious, and feeling fear of the unknown  (Would I wake up? Would I see my husband again? would I see my children again? Would they be able to do it all or would i be here again soon? Will i get an infection?,etc.) I had a huge lump in my throat. I was staring up at the ceiling and these nurses who were rolling me into the OR  looked so solemn and serious it scared me.  I wanted them to be a little lighter too, and remember I am real and human and matter.  

 I wanted to know that I could choose my mindset over my circumstances. 

I looked up at the last person I remember seeing and said, “you know that popular commercial?” to which she smiled and I said with all my might “wiggle wiggle wiggle” and then I remember no more.

Of course I did wake up again (always a valid concern when you go under, right?) and even though that would not be our last loss in the form of miscarriages, the laughter helped us both relieve lots of pressure and anxiety and nerves in that moment and to that we are so very thankful!  

Again, please know this situation was NOT funny, but God gave us this very temporary reprieve to remember this moment as a gift as He knew we would have a very long road ahead of suffering through the pain.

This bible verse sums it up beautifully for me.  

Proverbs 14:13 Even in laughter the heart may ache, and the end of joy may be grief.

Laughter is a gift!

It is no mistake that laughter is good for us and can change even our physical appearance, emotional, mental, and psychological demeanor, and even our spiritual perspective.  

God is the author of all of our emotions, so He gave us laughter and smiles for many reasons I am sure and I’m sure we will never know all the reasons until we get to Heaven, but I am so beyond thankful that He did create and give us laughter as a way to not only relieve pressure, but as a way to lighten our load, change our perspective, and connect with others.

Psalm 126:2-3 “Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” The Lord has done great things for us;  we are glad.”

Laughter is definitely food for the soul and we should feed our soul with it more often!

We have so many more stories like the one above when laughter helped to lighten our very serious and troublesome road and reminded us to lighten our perspective and be able to move forward again.

To help lighten your load, we are giving you this great printable set for free.  We hope that it is a visual reminder to laugh more and to try to keep things as light as possible in your heart so that you can keep putting one foot in front of the other as the moments, days, and years come ahead for your journey!

Comment below with a time when laughter was a great pressure valve release for you and your family and helped lighten your load, even if just for a moment.  Snag your FREE PRINTABLE SET here to visually remind you of the joy in laughing.