Laughter

Last year, in the season of Lent, I started this blog as a response to the idea of giving something up.  I intended to do 40 posts, one for each day.  Of course, real life intervened, as it always does, and now it is almost a year later, and I still haven't finished my 40 posts.  Which brings me to today, when I am grateful for laughter.

Life in this world has gotten very serious.  Events are occurring on a daily basis which sicken me, and it seems that evil is running rampant.  We are out of control, and there is no sign of it getting better any time soon.  Whether it is a celebrity baring her body to sell magazines or evil killers attacking innocents in schools and newspaper offices or drugs destroying families or teenagers killing for fun of it, Satan is having a field day in our world.  There is a lot of tragedy around, and it is impossible to hide from the knowledge that the world is on a crash course with disaster.

But in the midst of it all, there is also joy and laughter.  Babies smile and hearts melt.  Children laugh and we laugh with them.  We laugh at our pets, and our co-workers, and our families.  Each and every day, I find a reason to laugh, and it elevates my spirits.

Jesus laughed with his friends.  He enjoyed good times at weddings and get togethers.  He entertained crowds with his preaching, and held them spellbound.  I have to imagine that it included laughter along with the lessons.  We were created to feel joy, and with joy comes the peal of laughter that brightens our days.  Faith without joy is sterile, and there is no joy without laughter to accompany it.

I am grateful that God made me a creature who can laugh.  It is one of my greatest blessings.