laughter

Good morning…

How can you not laugh when someone you love says, “I just woke up one morning and my front teeth were gone. I have no idea where they went!” 93-year-old Betty Skinner looked like a jolly jack-o-lantern the week before Halloween.

On Saturday morning we talked for a few hours in Betty’s nursing home room, which included by speaker phone the cheerful voice of our friend Cathy Snapp. Then Betty showed me the garden where she shuffles her walker into the sunshine most every day, before we drove to our favorite restaurant. Scooching into a booth, Betty, Kitty Crenshaw, and I enjoyed laughter for lunch. I had taken copious notes in Betty’s tiny bedroom, jotting down her answers to my most pressing questions, but sharing this meal was relaxed, easy, fun. With small sips of Bud Light, Betty savored the small pieces of Margherita pizza we cut up on her plate. Then a lightbulb went off in her brilliant brain.

“Sue,” she said, “just tell the ladies you teach in your living room: MAKE BEST FRIENDS WITH JESUS.”

“Like now,” she explained, “I can’t see well, I can’t hear well, I can’t walk well, but I have Jesus. I have Jesus with me all the time. Aging can steal a lot of things, but nothing can take away our best friend Jesus.”

Pondering Betty’s advice right now, I feel drawn to google “How To Make A Best Friend.” A detailed article pops up to outline 15 steps to becoming best friends.

  1. Plan special activities to make cherished memories.
  2. Enjoy relaxing together at home.
  3. Take time to be together regularly.
  4. Share inside jokes.
  5. Be spontaneous, Spirit-led.
  6. Make friends with your friend’s family.
  7. Be there when your friend is sad.
  8. Allow your best friend to support you on good days and bad.
  9. Be your friend’s biggest fan.
  10. Be forever loyal to your best friend.
  11. Accept one another’s flaws.
  12. Practice kindness.
  13. View yourselves as equals, not one better, one worse.
  14. Spend time doing things that make you both laugh.
  15. Be your genuine self every day.

How might these 15 simple steps guide us into following Betty Skinner’s advice? “MAKE BEST FRIENDS WITH JESUS.”

Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me (John 15:15b, NLT).

…Sue…