Apparently I have E. E. Cummings on the brain today.
I've been a little under the weather this weekend, but Hubby and I got out for a nice walk today after church. I love greenways that meander through neighborhoods. I appreciate the work that went into them, the space that could be used for more ostensibly profitable endeavors, like more houses or businesses. But I think we gain a lot from having outside spaces we can enjoy together. My favorite is when I see dads and their little girls walking around. I used to be one of those. :-)
The devotional in my Bible for this weekend had me think about laughter and its importance in our relationships. It emphasized laughing WITH your partner, rather than AT them. However, Hubby pointed that if I laugh AT myself (which I do quite often), then he can laugh WITH me, and it's sort of laughing at me in a roundabout way. I won't argue with that. But anyway, the Biblical illustration it offered me of laughing was Sarah and Abraham, who both individually laughed at God when He said they would bear a child. It asked me why I thought they laughed. It's hard to fathom God being a fan of people laughing at Him, but I guess sometimes things seem so preposterous by our broken, small-faith standards that there's not much else to do BUT laugh! And then when Isaac was born, Sarah said, "God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me." (Genesis 21:6). I like that for a couple of reasons. One is that I like thinking of our children as laughter. They definitely can bring that, but I feel like we often overlook that in favor of finding them a stressor. But I also like that Sarah sort of acknowledges her earlier lack of faith and essentially thanks God for His laughter. Perhaps sending her Isaac was His way of laughing right back at her.
Where is God laughing with me these days?
