God's Sense of Humor

Over the years, I have come to the point of acknowledging God's sense of humor; however, it was long and hard in coming. As I recall my days as a child attending church with my family and how it was the norm to wipe the smile and joy you just shared with others outside the church door from your face once you entered the sanctuary. Laughter in the presence of God was disturbing because God was serious and he needed us to be serious in order for us to know that he loved us. I imagine the feeling was that for us to be grateful for God's love we needed to distort our faces (like the Pharisees when they fasted). Being somewhat of a jokester, it was interesting for me to read that Hyers And God Created Laughter and recognize that the fact that "laughter is fundamentally an act of celebrating existence. Laughter is an expression both of enjoyment and thanksgiving" (p14). Since I have decided to celebrate God's creative process in my life and since I want to continue saying "yes to life", I am grateful for this text that reminds me that to be comedic in the presence of God is to "see myself from the outside" without all the stresses and tensions that my life includes. For me to enjoy the "good life" that God promised, it is important for me to remember not to kill and bury the child I once was but to use the innocence of children to garner the courage to ask those "whys" of God that I would not ask when my adult mind is engaged. This text reminded me to use my childlike mind in ways that helps bring playfulness and laughter into my relationships and encounters with the people I encounter so that the image and face of God is never far away from me or them.