Choose to Dance

Our family experienced a fun celebration over the weekend. A nephew, on my husband's side of the family tree, married the love of his life and we all gathered to wish them well. And a good time was had by all. This event gave everyone a chance to relax, let their hair down, and have a really good time. It was a much needed break for everyone involved.

There was a live band that played classic hits to keep things festive:


Yummy refreshments in the form of cheesecake. (Need I say more?)


A good-sized crowd bearing gifts:


Not to mention the happy couple, who were really tired of having their picture taken by this point in the evening, but were trying to be good sports about that anyway. ;)

We laughed, visited, partook of delicious refreshments, and some of us tried to dance. In short, we had a really good time, and we even posed for a picture or two ourselves:

(Kennon's siblings and mother)

You would never guess from looking at these pictures that this family suffered a tragic loss nearly a year ago. Kennon's oldest brother passed away last April, but this family has survived and is currently flourishing. This doesn't mean we all are trial-free at the moment. Each family has had its shares of ups and downs during this past year. As with most who dwell in our nation, the economy has taken its toll. There have been health glitches in every family, and other challenging moments to deal with. But I suspect it's a good sign that we can all still find reasons to smile.

I believe that's how we're going to survive this troubled time in our nation. We need to smile, laugh, and not dwell on the icky stuff that comes our way. This is not always an easy thing, but I have found in my own life that laughter is truly the best medicine when life goes awry. Allowing ourselves to become discouraged is asking for trouble, something none of us need.

So whether or not the music is playing, choose to dance. Pick yourselves up and dust yourselves off when life flings you across the room, and smile. Find a reason to laugh, and soon you will discover that you don't need a reason to laugh. Laughing out loud dispels dark thoughts. And recently I heard this following phrase: "Faith and fear cannot dwell inside the same heart and mind." This means that faith dispels fear. Only the adversary would have us exist inside a darkened state of mind filled with doubting fear. It is our Father's hope that we will all learn to seek the joy in life, and to remain grateful for our blessings, even when bad things happen.

Look around today and see if you can't find a reason to smile\laugh. I can promise that once you start laughing, darkened thoughts will evaporate. And to my way of thinking, that's a better way to live. Choose to dance, to sing, to smile . . . or in other words, choose to live.