We have all probably heard the saying, "If you cannot laugh at yourself, then who can you laugh at." Well, some days I just do a lot more laughing than others! We should laugh - if not that good belly laugh that releases all those happy feelings - then at least a little chuckle now and again to remind us we are all human and all do some kinda dumb stuff! I don't laugh 'at' people, but because we ALL are people, suffering from similar inconsistencies in our lives, and we just do 'funny stuff' from time to time. You know what . . . life gets pretty doggone hard at times and if we could not laugh or celebrate from time to time, it would be pretty hard to get through!
I inherited your book on living; it's mine forever—what a gift! And how happy it makes me! I concentrate on doing exactly what you say—I always have and always will. (Psalm 119:111-112)
I always loved watching my children and now my grandchildren opening their gifts on Christmas morning. I observed their expressions with each gift - was it the thing they had hoped for, or the gift that kind of brought a little let down (like new undies or socks). You know what - there are times in life where our face says it all! The moments of delight or disappointment are written across the expanse of our face, our eyes betraying our real feelings. I remember one Christmas with my grandson. The first thing he removed from the box I had prepared for him was socks! Imagine his look - disappointment was spelled out on every inch of that wee face! Not the gift he really expected - nor the one he probably wanted! Then he reached in for the next thing....more socks! What he did not understand was that I had used the socks to "fill in" the two very much hoped for toys underneath those socks in order to keep them from rattling all around in the box! When he finally found those - the laughter came!
Sometimes God is like that, packing really desirable things with some pretty "regular" stuff - we just have to dig a little deeper to find the really desirable things he puts a little deeper into the box we call everyday life! When we finally "hit upon" the desirable in the midst of the regular, our interpretation of the "gift" changes, doesn't it? It went from being a 'so-so' gift to being a real 'awesome' one! I think this is what David might have had in mind when he penned these words: "I inherited your book on living; it's mine forever—what a gift!" I am sure David had to "weed through" a few "ordinary" church services, routine studying of the Word, determined listening to preachers explain the passages, and then as if by some miracle, there it was - the "desired" gift! He was weeding through the ordinary until he found the desirable!
In those moments, laughter brought lightness to his heart, even in the midst of some of the greatest trials. When God reveals himself, the heart's response is gladness. We cannot but smile, even laugh a little, whenever our heart is made light in a dark time! Imagine God's Word as a gift, beautifully wrapped, carefully "packaged" so as much content "fits" into it as possible. Sometimes our study will be like "sock" discovery days - good to have, but not really something that "wows" us. At others, our study uncovers something in which we will take great delight - enjoying it over and over again until we almost are worn out in the revelry of the gift! So, get into it, dig deeper - you may never know what there is to discover there! Just sayin!
I inherited your book on living; it's mine forever—what a gift! And how happy it makes me! I concentrate on doing exactly what you say—I always have and always will. (Psalm 119:111-112)
I always loved watching my children and now my grandchildren opening their gifts on Christmas morning. I observed their expressions with each gift - was it the thing they had hoped for, or the gift that kind of brought a little let down (like new undies or socks). You know what - there are times in life where our face says it all! The moments of delight or disappointment are written across the expanse of our face, our eyes betraying our real feelings. I remember one Christmas with my grandson. The first thing he removed from the box I had prepared for him was socks! Imagine his look - disappointment was spelled out on every inch of that wee face! Not the gift he really expected - nor the one he probably wanted! Then he reached in for the next thing....more socks! What he did not understand was that I had used the socks to "fill in" the two very much hoped for toys underneath those socks in order to keep them from rattling all around in the box! When he finally found those - the laughter came!
Sometimes God is like that, packing really desirable things with some pretty "regular" stuff - we just have to dig a little deeper to find the really desirable things he puts a little deeper into the box we call everyday life! When we finally "hit upon" the desirable in the midst of the regular, our interpretation of the "gift" changes, doesn't it? It went from being a 'so-so' gift to being a real 'awesome' one! I think this is what David might have had in mind when he penned these words: "I inherited your book on living; it's mine forever—what a gift!" I am sure David had to "weed through" a few "ordinary" church services, routine studying of the Word, determined listening to preachers explain the passages, and then as if by some miracle, there it was - the "desired" gift! He was weeding through the ordinary until he found the desirable!
In those moments, laughter brought lightness to his heart, even in the midst of some of the greatest trials. When God reveals himself, the heart's response is gladness. We cannot but smile, even laugh a little, whenever our heart is made light in a dark time! Imagine God's Word as a gift, beautifully wrapped, carefully "packaged" so as much content "fits" into it as possible. Sometimes our study will be like "sock" discovery days - good to have, but not really something that "wows" us. At others, our study uncovers something in which we will take great delight - enjoying it over and over again until we almost are worn out in the revelry of the gift! So, get into it, dig deeper - you may never know what there is to discover there! Just sayin!
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