I'm going to be sharing something different with you today. This has been on my heart for quite some time, and I thought that this might be a good place to get these thoughts out. In my Mantras and Resolutions post, I shared that I wanted to live out this verse from Hebrews 11:10. This verse is about Abraham and how he left his home country in faith that the Lord would provide a good life for him. One thing that I always found interesting is that his wife, Sarah, did not always have this faith. She went with him, of course, but she didn't fully trust in the promises of the Lord. The best example of that being in Genesis 18 when angels came to visit Abraham to tell him that in the next year he would become a father by Sarah. She was eavesdropping on this conversation and couldn't help but laugh at the notion that she would give birth in the next year. You see, she was pushing 90 and Abraham was 100. They were well past their child-bearing years, and they had given up on the idea of an heir long ago. Just as promised within the year, she gave birth to their son Isaac. When she did, she said, "God has made me laugh, and everyone who hears will laugh with me" (Genesis 21:6). I think these are 2 very different kinds of laughter, and I want to talk about that a little bit today.

Personally, I have been living in the first kind of laughter for a long time. This is a laughter that does not believe that the Lord is going to give you what He has said He would. He has promised that "all things will work together for good," but I struggle with my personal expectations of what will be good for me (Romans 8:28). I get stuck in a place where things are only good if they are working out how I believe they are supposed to. What I should be doing is stepping back and finding the good in where the Lord has led me to today (That is one of the main reasons I did the 100 Happy Days challenge). Instead, I am trying to find my way into my dream job, in my dream city, and with a dream man. I'm not saying that we aren't meant to work for what we get in life (as shown in the Parable of the Talents, Matthew 25:14-30). What I am saying is that we can't get so stuck in our vision for our future that we kick God out of the planning process completely. He has better ideas than I could ever dream up, and I just need to let Him take the time to build that life for me. He is the best designer that you could ever find. Just hand over the blueprint, and let Him work.

That is where the second kind of laughter comes in. It is a deep joy that comes from realizing what has been provided for you. I definitely have my moments of this kind of laughter. I couldn't ask for a more loving, supportive family or a better group of friends. I've really been led to a lot of beautiful people who I couldn't be more thankful to know. It is so important to try to look outside the future-focused bubble that people my age tend to live in and really appreciate what is around you right now. Psalm 92: 4 says, "For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord; I sing for joy at what your hands have done." I want to let God show me what is good because I know that He will make me glad. I want to live in the city He is building for me. When people see what He has done, they will surely be happy too.