Imago Adventus - 06 - Laughter

Genesis 21:1-7 The Lord dealt with Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as he had promised. Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to his son whom Sarah bore him. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. Now Sarah said, “God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.” And she said, “Who would ever have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.

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I love this passage and I love this theme for today. Voskamp asks a question at the end of the devotion today about when the last time was that I/you really really laughed. Not just snickered or gave a little haha, but really gut-busting laughter. I wonder if Sarah’s laughter was something of the ROTFL type of laughter or just a snicker. Regardless…there’s something so beautiful and healing and renewing about laughter - I loved this line from Voskamp - “Laughter is God’s gift - oxygenated grace.” I remember when I was struggling with some of the darker moments of depression in the last few years and I couldn’t find things to really laugh at. I am thankful that I have found my laughter - that I can look back to times just in the last day or so and in the last week and in the last month that I had those moments of deep laughter and deep joy. I know that there will be times that those places are harder to come by than at others, but I rejoice in those times. I rejoice like the huge smile on this snowman ornament - a permanent grin with a light that glows forth from it. Voskamp also quotes Luther with a brilliant statement - “You have as much laughter as you have faith.” Wow.