Laughing Out Loud: A Tribute to Girlfriends
By LaWanda Bailey
"Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh." Luke 6:21 (NIV)
Women hold the world together with a mop in one hand and a briefcase in the other. If we do get a chance to sit down, our laps automatically fill with children and laptops. We succeed at home and in the workplace. But once in a while, responsibilities and heartaches gang up and try to take us down. The next time that happens, get yourself a girlfriend and laugh.
Gathering with other female companions comes naturally. Just notice schoolgirls on playgrounds, teenagers at malls, students in sororities, new mothers at parks, mature women at Bible studies, and elderly women at reunions. We need each other.
When a gal pal shows up to cry with you, don't be surprised if something unexpected happens to provoke smiles. Laughter says that friendship is a steady point when all else is in a mess. And it signals that better days lie ahead. Comedians say that humor often rises out of tragedy. I agree, because it's happened to me:
Divorce
Beth and I, divorced mothers of young children, sat at a singles' dance. Our kids were with their fathers, and we hoped the dance would break the loneliness. Beth fished the cherry out of her third ginger ale. "They sure don't cater to newcomers here," she said. At that moment, a guy asked her to dance. I watched as the tall man held my petite friend close. She rolled her eyes at me every time they danced by. When she returned, I said, "Well, he looks rough around the edges, but he's nice and tall. How tall do you think he is?"
Beth held her nose. "I don't know how tall he is, but his armpit is five-foot-one."
We laughed till our mascara ran. Decades later, we still chuckle when we mention Mr. Aroma.
Death
One dreary morning, family and friends gathered at my father's graveside. Following the service, my sister Jean and I, heartbroken, lingered at the head of his coffin. She leaned against it and kissed the closed lid. The casket shifted and rolled, and she lost her footing. As Jean slid toward the open grave, I grabbed her arm and jerked her back. Our pent-up grief poured out in wild laughter, right there in front of God and everybody. When the other mourners realized what had happened, they joined in. The somber atmosphere lifted, all because my sister had one foot in the grave.
Illness
My co-worker, Kay, suffered from constant, severe back pain, made worse by unsuccessful surgery. Her health issues pressed hard on the mood of our friendship, but she often rose above her discomfort to laugh. One afternoon after work, we sat in my car discussing a chewing-out her pompous supervisor had given her. We spotted him across the lawn in conversation with his boss. The gusting wind caught her supervisor's toupee from the back, stood it straight up above his forehead, and held it there while he unknowingly blathered on. We laughed like school girls. Kay still vows that the Lord sent the wind in her behalf, though theologians might disagree.
Depression
My friend Sarah and I went on a Dump Depression getaway. While we exchanged pedicures, we took turns reading aloud from a side-splitting book…tricky business when you're trying to control nail polish. In no time, our feet looked like road maps. Sarah laughed so hard she pulled a muscle in her side. Back home, the pain persisted, and she went to her doctor. As she left his office, he said, "Could you get me a copy of that book?"
Girlfriends make trials easier. One hard night, a friend came to comfort me. "I keep asking God to take away the hurt, and he doesn't," I cried. She stood to get me a tissue, and her half-slip fell around her ankles, causing her to stumble. I don't know who laughed first, but we lost control and surely disturbed the neighbors. In a revelation, I understood that God had answered my cry for relief. He had sent the gift of laughter wrapped up in my girlfriend.
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