“Laugh with me”
“… and all who hear will laugh with me.” — Genesis 21:6b
With her husband, Sarah may have been one of the first “out of the norm” parents out there. With technology today, she won’t be the last. She may have wondered what others would think of her being a first-time mom so advanced in age.
But this doesn’t seem likely. When we read her story through her chapters of Genesis, we see she had wanted to be a mother for such a long time. When it happened, she likely didn’t spend half a second in worry or dismay over what others would think of her.
She did, however, want to share a message to the world. To all of us who hear her story, she decrees, “Laugh with me. Find delight in this gift with me. Experience my joy in what has happened so that you, too, will know joy.”
She shares her joy isn’t self-contained. It isn’t hers alone. She doesn’t just want to share it, though. She wants all who hear her story to laugh with her. She knows this pregnancy is a miracle from God. When we laugh with her, we celebrate God’s blessing, God’s timing, and God’s wonderful gift not just to Sarah and Abraham, but God’s gift to all of us.
Even if you are experiencing barren years (or barren decades as Sarah did), wait for it. Like the punchline in any joke, sometimes you have to go through a lot of story (your story) before you get to your laugh. But you will laugh, Sarah says.
She is living proof of waiting for laughter to arrive. Trust her.
And, while you wait, laugh with her.
PRAYER: Each of us have had enough blessings. Sarah certainly said this before she became a mother. She asks us to laugh with her because she wants us to share her joy in You. In turn, we share Your joy in her. Amen.
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