Laughing at the future

It's been just over two weeks since my van stopped working on the exit ramp about an hour from home. We were headed to a giant water park, courtesy of a friend, and I had pulled off just a mile or so from our destination, children eager to spend the day having fun, when my trusty Honda just died. No warning. No drama. Just a refusal to run any further. 

Fast forward to this week, and my husband is away on a business trip when the mechanic calls to give me the bad news that there is little hope of recovery. It took all my self-control not to....cry? 

Nope... Laugh. 

Crazy, huh? Just bubbling up inside of me was laughter. Not the crazy, maniacal laughter of one gone mad, but joyous, free laughter. It was uncanny. In fact, even as I retell this story, I can feel it deep inside. 

I know there is nothing funny about the prospect of purchasing a new vehicle when we thought this one would last us another five to eight years. When we just put our fourth kiddo in braces. When we just paid for a choir tour, fixed the electric, and put in some new windows. Suddenly, "Jesus take the wheel" has a whole new meaning. 🤣🤣🤣

In the midst of all this, however, is such joy. Inexplicable, unnatural joy. 

I'm reminded of the verse in Proverbs 31:25: "She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come." Oh, I'm laughing alright. You can, too.

Laughter is a good medicine (Proverbs 17:22). Like Sarah, when God fulfilled His promise to her, we can laugh (Gen. 21:6). 

When faced with the impossibility of her situation, Sarah fought despondency. It's easy to default to depression and despair when hit with the unknown and impossible, but the good news is that things are neither unknown nor impossible to the creator of the universe. 

My van could have stopped working when I was in the left lane of the interstate, but it didn't. It could have given out on me in the middle of a busy NJ intersection, but it didn't. I could have stalled while merging into busy traffic or when my husband was away on a business trip, but that's not what happened. Instead, it stopped functioning on a wide exit ramp within walking distance of a Burger King, so I could at least feed my kids lunch while we waited for help. Isn't God good?

So, when the world seems to be falling in around us, we can laugh. When life throws curveballs, we can laugh. Yes, Sarah's laughter came after the fulfillment of God's promise to her, but once we know in Whose hand we are held, we can laugh even before we see the answer. We can laugh without fear because we know the faithfulness of the one Who holds us.