A friend sent this out in a bulletin and I thought I'd share it with MyChurch family.

This was written By Regina Brett of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio

To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written.

My odometer rolls over to 70 in August, so here goes:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry

13. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness, except you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of whom God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative--dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Life is such an interesting journey.  We all travel through it.  There is a scripture in the bible in Ecclesiastes 3:1 & 4 that reads, "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.  A time to weep and a time to laugh."  Wow...that does say a lot in just a few words doesn't it?

My lifes journey has been a very bumpy road to travel but on the other hand, not knowing any other path at the time, I'm glad I've traveled it.

As I look over my life I know there were a lot of losses I had no control over.  As a baby, a child, and a young teenager, you live in and under a certain environment that is not of your own makings.  It is also in this environment that you can suffer many losses.  The loss of a childhood, the loss of a mother or father, the loss of even your own identity.  It is through these losses it is so easy to become bitter, hardened and resentful.

I as a very young girl found a world to live in within a world of dysfunction.  A world that allowed me to laugh no matter how much I may have been weeping or hurting in the real world.  This journey of laughter I decided to take saved my life in many ways.  Through my own mother's failed marriages and the abuses I was inflicted with, I found laughter.  Through my own 2 failed marriages marked with endless abuse, I found laughter.  Through the loss of giving up my children due to extreme circumstances, I found laughter.  It isn't that I laughed at life, I laughed to save my life.

With laughter there are so many proven benefits.  Laughter is quite infectious and is so resilient.  It is also proven to be quite healing.  In the mist of a situation that can be somewhat daunting, laughter can lighten up the atmosphere and more times than naught, cheer up someone around you.  Laughter can be the most perfect gift and it certainly can be given out freely with no hidden fee's.  What's the saying?..."Laughter is good for the soul", oh so true, because it feels so good when you're laughing and the feelings are even better afterwards. 

So even today should my world turn upside down, I will continue to laugh through the journey, wherever it's path takes me.