By Pastor Devlyn
When was the last time you remember genuinely laughing out of pure joy?
I’m not talking about the superficial chuckles we offer others to be polite when they say something light. I’m talking a laugh that starts all the way down in your belly and roars out through your mouth!
Has it been too long? … I suspect for a lot of us it has. And I’ll add that it probably doesn’t happen enough!
I recently was reminded of this while helping our son complete the task of transferring from one college to another. There are a lot of hoops to jump through, and he asked me to help get him through the process.
About 45 minutes into the task, I caught him looking down at his phone and chuckling. He looked over at me with a face that showed mischief in the making, and flashed me that million dollar smile that only Carter has.
He looked back at his phone again, wiggled it back and forth, and laughed even harder, tossing his head back in the process and letting out a roar of joy.
Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. Here we were, trying to get this very detailed process completed so that he could process his transfer. I was focused on the task, and I’ll be honest, I was already stressed from the weight of many responsibilities that day.
Ok, I’ll say it, I was even a bit of a crank up to that point, because this task of helping him fill out college transfer paperwork hadn’t been in my plans for the day.
So, I looked over at him and asked, “What is so funny!”
Carter looked at his phone again, wiggled it back and forth, and busted a gut even harder the third time around. By this time he was having a hoot, and he didn’t care about Grumpopatumas Dad sitting next to him.
He slowly tilted his phone toward me and said, “It’s this Snapchat filter.” He then demonstrated how the filter that he was using turned his head into a cartoon-like image. It shaped his noggin like an egg standing on end, took away all of his hair, and gave him big, ol’ bug eyes. … Essentially, he looked like what I imagine Humpty Dumpty to look like in person.
And he was enjoying it endlessly! … He kept moving the phone back and forth, and laughing at each and every new iteration of his bizarre countenance. He sounded like someone who was 4 years old, not someone who was 19.
After a little while longer watching this young man amused by his own silliness, something inside me broke. And the laugh started out slowly deep down in my belly, but by the time it broke the surface, I couldn’t contain my joy any more either. I sat, amazed, joyful and thankful that I could watch my son enjoy such a genuinely simple moment of life. I laughed just as hard alongside him!
It took us a long while to recover from the disruption. In fact, we probably weren’t as productive afterward, but I will tell you that we had a lot more fun doing it! … And more importantly, it reminded me of a valuable lesson.
While there are a great many serious things we need to manage in this earthly life, God does want us to enjoy life too! It is, after all, why he made joy and laughter and the lighter moments that help us celebrate a good life.
Job 8:21 tells us: “He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.”
Life is about balance, and I readily admit that I too often forget that. Life isn’t supposed to be about toil and trouble and anxiety and worry every moment of our day. Life is supposed to be about living in balance between the joy and the grief, the sorrow and the laughter. After all, in Ecclesiastes 3, we are told that there is “a season and a time for every matter under heaven …”
I am so grateful that Carter reminded me of this valuable lesson. His joy was palpable and contagious and it pulled me out of a deep funk that had troubled me all day long. As they say, I guess laughter truly is the best medicine!
So, that makes me wonder: If we all paid a little bit more attention to the lighter side of life, if we practiced joy as much as we did worry, how big of an impact could we have on those around us? If we all enjoyed a moment like Carter did with his silly phone shenanigans, could we help lift up those around us? Would they see Jesus’ light shining through us because of our joy?
I think the answer is a resounding: YES!
Blessings to you this summer, Faith Family! I’m looking forward to seeing you at our 6:30 p.m. Wednesday night services! And don’t forget to come early for supper!
Comments