A Thought For The Week Of April 24, 2017

"Now Sarah said, 'God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.'" (Genesis 21:6) Laughter. It's a great thing. The best medicine, as one paraphrase of a biblical Proverb puts it. To me, laughter represents joy - and one of the greatest joys that can happen is when unexpected blessings appear in our lives that take us by surprise. We laugh. We feel joy. That's what happened to Sarah. She was too old to have a child; to have a child was simply impossible for her. For her to have expected to have a child would have been ridiculous. But - it happened! And Sarah laughed - and all those around her laughed. Not having a child had been a source of great despair for Sarah. But, once she had given up hope, it happened. God works in ways that are mysterious and unexpected and even baffling to us. But once we discern God's presence in what's happening around us and to us it fills us with joy. Obviously, it doesn't have to be the birth of a child, or in anything we would necessarily consider a miracle. Seeing God's presence anywhere and in any way should fill us with joy. Joy can come from the every day things in life. Why not laugh as the sun shines, or as the grass turns green, or as the trees bud and leaves appear, or as snow falls? Why not laugh at the countless stars in the sky? Why not laugh as waves crash into shore? Maybe more simply put - why not just laugh? When we discern God's presence in any one of countless ways our response doesn't have to be pious devotion - sometimes it can just be joyous laughter. Sometimes that's the most honest way to respond to God's mysterious work in our lives.