Surprised By Laughter
By Angela Mackey
Friday, July 14, 2017
“…weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” Psalm 30:5b NIV
At seventeen I stood with my twin sister and a friend beside Mark’s casket. He was only eighteen. His personality lit up a room.
Now the mask of death painted in make-up covered his face. Salty tears streamed down our cheeks. Weren’t we too young to have a friend dead? My brain rehearsed what-ifs and if-only’s.
Sure, Mark had the hope of heaven, but grieving over the death of a friend was real and hard.
As we stood there we began to reminisce. Memories came quickly. Mark was funny, a football player, and into mischief.
Then a memory came and through our tears we laughed hard. It was like a light of hope was shining in the darkness of our grief.
God gave us laughter as we grieved what we could not understand.
That was the first day I saw the intricate tapestry of joy and grief. In the midst of our grief and sorrow, God weaves strands of joy, pure joy–the kind of joy that causes a deep belly laugh.
Laughter lightens the heavy burden of grief and helps us release our emotions in a different way than tears. It reminds us that weeping is only for the night, but joy comes in the morning.
Now, I seek absurd moments in the midst of the stress, grief, or sadness. I ask God to help me see my situation from the outside.
Often I laugh at myself and I find the stressful moment turns into an adventure. Through laughter, I discover hope in the midst of grief and joy in the midst of sadness.
When a situation is stressful or you are struggling with grief, pray God gives you a glimpse of the absurd or a memory to make you laugh.
Give yourself permission to laugh and laugh hard.
Father God, Thank You for laughter. Help us to see the funny things in life and laugh. Give us laughter in our grief. Help us remember weeping is for a short time, but joy and laughter come in the morning. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.
© 2017 by Angela Mackey. All rights reserved.
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Originally published Friday, 14 July 2017.
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