A day unwasted

My son and I recently completed a project that had been on my wife’s wish list for a long time: a tree swing for the grandkids. Unfortunately, the swing did not go up as expected. I had it so well thought out in my head. I had even made a plan. We attached it to a couple of trees about ten feet off the ground, but then trying to get the beam level created quite a challenge. In the end, we got it spot on, but not before I had several boards fall on my head. But it was level.

We began to attach the lag bolts, and then I slipped off the step ladder, landing on my back, hitting a stump in the process. My son and his wife ran to check and see how the “old man” held up. I will admit that as I laid on the ground, I had to take an inventory of all my parts and see if they still functioned, which luckily, they did. My wife saw my battered face, scratched hands and stiff back and thought that maybe we should have gotten a kit from the store. I wondered if it would be worth the bumps, scrapes and bruises. By the time we had completed the swing, our one-hour project had become a test of our endurance and abilities.

My granddaughter jumped on it the second we finished the swing. Her giggles and laughter made the whole tumble, fall, and everything else so worth it. The actor Charlie Chaplin said, “A day without laughter is a day wasted.” I would have to agree; as a doctor, laughter is some of the best medicine.

I recently had a young woman in hospice for metastatic cancer. It had gone to her brain, which made her confused at times. We began to see that she had little time left. She called her best friends and family over and they spent the night, eating pizza, telling stories. We heard laughter down the hall until the wee hours of the morning. She finally fell asleep and never woke up. In many ways, it was a perfect day for her and for her friends.

KJV Ecclesiastes 3:4 reminds us that in every life there is “A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to morn, and a time to dance.” This woman knew what time she needed and it was a time to laugh as all the weeping and so forth had come and gone. Unfortunately, there are those who never find the time to laugh or dance. You know the type, always serious or sad, or a variety of other states; but never in a state of joy. The laughter of a child can be so contagious, even if you don’t know why, you begin to have a slight smile on your face and before you know it, you’re laughing as well.

I know that at times things can be dark and they can be sad; and life can beat you up when you feel like there is nothing left. I also know that there is a time for joy and just like in Ecclesiastes, there is a time to dance.

A Christian Rock song by the group Passion called “Glorious Day” talks about running out of the darkness and into the “Glorious Day” when you find Christ. I love the visual of running, if you feel down and out, or not where you want to be. I pray that each of us finds the strength to choose the direction in which to run that will bring us to laughter, joy, light, and a time of dancing.

We each have the power to change direction and run to the light. A world with more laughter and dancing surely would be a joy for our Savior to behold; and imagine the joy it would be for each of us. This is my prayer for all of us at this time: to live each day unwasted.

Dr. John Boston is a father, husband, grandfather, local physician, member of the Mat-Su Board of Trustees and Colonel in the Alaska Air National Guard. He believes in Christ and is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.