Laughter in Marriage
The best way to keep your marriage fresh and fun is to find ways to laugh together. From my personal experience, when my husband and I laugh together, we feel more emotionally connected. Laughter brings upon joy and happiness. Being intentional to connect through laughter will enhance your connection. If you’re not intentional, your connection will likely drift away. No one chooses to drift in marriage however it sneaks in when couples stop enjoying life together. In this blog, I have outlined ways you and your spouse can stay intentional and keep on laughing.
Forced Laughter
Often, things your spouse may not sound funny to you. In these situations, it’s important to fake laugh. This fake laugh will likely turn into genuine laughter soon enough. Laughter is contagious so when one partner begins to laugh the other is likely to follow.
Healing Laughter
Laughter is a great way to help us cope with challenging situations and stages of life, but there is a time and place for joking. Never use humor to avoid difficult conversations. Humor can often defuse tension and conflict, however, is we take things too far, jokes can easily turn into contempt. Contempt is the number one precursor towards a marital dissolution. Good-hearted humor build intimacy.
Laughter in the Grind
As your marriage transitions into different seasons, it’s imperative to be more intentional to date your spouse, laugh more, spend time together, and speak kindly to one another. The grind of life can become grueling and exhausting. King Solomon reminds use to enjoy life together: “Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which He has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity; for that is your portion in life, and in the labor which you perform under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 9:9 God did not give you a spouse to cause you exhaustion. He gave you your spouse so you could navigate life’s grind together. Moments of laughter can provide a welcome break in the routine of the daily grind.
Physical Laughter
Did you know that laughter can burn calories? According to one Vanderbilt University study, you can shed up to 40 calories a day with just 15 minutes of vigorous laughter. A great belly laugh can also reduce tension throughout your entire body. When you reach laughter to the point of saying, “My face hurts” or “My side aches”, that’s a good sign that you just released a whole lot of tension.
Are you ready to laugh with your spouse? To lighten the mood, cut loose, and enjoy life together? Make it a daily goal to bring a smile to your spouse’s face. Share something funny or embarrassing that you said or did today. Considering all the benefits of laughter, what are you waiting for?
