Laughter

Laughter

Often, when I was a kid, our family ate supper together. We brothers would usually tell some dumb jokes or wear some weird outfit and mom would get us all laughing with her uncontrollable giggling. Her laugh was insatiable, it would entice us to keep it coming, not to just put off doing the dishes but because the laughter seemed to clean out some of the toxic world.

Will there be laughter in Heaven? If so what will it be like? Of course there is that uncomfortable, awkward laughter we are sometimes forced into. But it seems that most laughter should come from something which is actually funny. Will it be self- deprecating? This hardly seems as if it would be part of Heaven's humor. Maybe pointing out something peculiar or idiosyncratic would lift our spirits. But wouldn't idiosyncrasies be classified as gifts in Heaven...not something goofy at all? There must be some types of jokes Jesus would tell. Do you think His sense of humor would be dry or roll back and howl funny? Surely there is laughter in Heaven. 

Our world is full of hurting, lonely and sick friends. There are uncomfortable decisions being created and acted upon within our society. We see too many odd situations developing within our political realm. The suffering we see around the world is epidemic. All this makes our hearts heavy...oh for a little laughter.

Kent, my buddy who passed away earlier this year, was a great joke teller not because of the jokes he told but because of how he told the joke. I can see him walking past Jesus on some golden side street, their eyes meet and Kent gives Jesus the "up nod"... " knock knock", and without flinching, Jesus, in all His omniscience, flashes a quick smile..."who's there." Neither of them would make it past the "who's there" because Kent would be in hysterics and although Jesus would already know the punch line His laughter would also be hysterical as he watched His created laughter be so perfectly exhibited through Kent.

Sure, in Heaven there will be everlasting joy. But what about here, what about now? Is laughter necessary? Although sometimes it's hard to come by I do believe it is important. There are healing qualities for the struggles we encounter keeping us healthy and capable for the work God has given.

Proverbs 17:22

A cheerful heart is good medicine,

 but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

The more we let the bones dry the more susceptible we become to the taunts and testings of the evil ones. Don't give in. LOL 

Disease

                                   Disease

My Father was an incredible man.  He had an amazing drive and desire to serve his God, to the point some may have felt, it was overdone.  He was a diabetic and a researcher, so was often unconventional in his treatment and tried his own way to control the disease.  Often this meant he would end up with some kind of reaction.  The benefit of the malady was that he always had a bag of candy in the car.  However, most of my life these reactions meant cramming concentrated frozen orange juice into his system to regulate him.  Later on they created a syringe, loaded with the good stuff, that we had to inject into him.  When dad had these reactions, many opportunities erupted for angels to stay vigilant by keeping the house from burning down, watching over approaching vehicles and stalling out runaway tractors. 

One particular time Dad and Mom were in a back alley in Watertown, MN, right next to the river.  I must have gotten a text from God because somehow I tracked them down.  Now understand, Dad would either get wacky funny or angry during a reaction.  This time he was extraordinarily angry.  I kept running up to the car and he kept driving away.  My worry was he was so erratic that he may drive into the river.  I finally reached the car and turned it off and while I was wrestling the keys away, dad began swearing at me (he never swore) and punching me in the face.  As I wrestled to restrain my dad so mom could use the syringe I looked into his eyes and longed for my real father to come back.  Finally the medicine took hold...he came back.  He never really spoke to me about the event but I knew he felt awful.  Even though it wasn't who he really was it affected us both somehow.  I think it hurt the most because he felt so bad.

Sin is somewhat like this disease.  It comes over us unexpectedly and its effects somehow overtake us and drag us where we don't want to go.  It makes it seem a grand thing to take life over the cliff into the river.  Satan is really good at that and takes on the form that applies to us; a driver, a debater, a counselor, a thinker; the thing we would have considered a gift not a disease. 

Will I allow friends to restrain me so God can stab me with His Son and let the Holy Spirit drain into my life and bring back the me God wants to see?

 Psalm 43:3

Send forth your light and your truth,

let them guide me; let them

bring me to your holy mountain.

Often when I slip away from God I feel bad just as my father felt so many years ago.  But God offers hope.

Psalm 43:5

Why so downcast my soul?

Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God

for I will yet praise Him

my Savior and my God.

Now these are not words from a weak willed blubbering Scandinavian.  These are words given to a powerful and mighty king who needed and received the same hope I do.