Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy…

The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.

Psalm 126:2 & 3

Oh, my goodness, what joy we get when our two-year-old grandson laughs. It sounds like music to our ears. As he ages, he notices so much more about his little world that makes him laugh – including our mistakes.

“Tida went out the wrong door. Daddy spilled his coffee. Mommy sat on a pouch on the couch and it made a tooting noise.”

He finds all of these occurrences quite hilarious and giggles away while telling all of those stories. I cannot help but laugh right along with him. And why not? Not a one of us did any of those things on purpose. Accidents happen. Our world did not collapse.

How often do we take our own accidental mistakes way too seriously and let them ruin our day? Well, what must others think of me? I cannot do anything right. It’s just one thing after another.

How the enemy must love that frame of mind.

What if, on the other hand, we simply laughed about the little “uh ohs” and went on our merry way? What if we did not overanalyze a simple mistake? 

Imagine how happy it must make God when we are “filled with laughter and songs of joy?”  Just as we giggle along with our grandson, God must get so excited when we put our focus on the positives, the great things he has done for us, and we allow him to fill us with joy. Not only does our own frame of mind improve, but also the atmosphere in our presence does as well. I can think of no better way to encourage those around us than to be filled with appropriate laughter and with gratitude and joy.

Father, thank you for all of the great things you have most certainly done for us. Laughter brings us so much joy. Help us remember to do it more often.

Susan Partida