The Medicine Cabinet: Laugh Often — Tuesday
Mark 10:14b
He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children.” (NLT)
It is not uncommon in our house to hear giggles and all-out laughter coming from my 4-year-old daughter’s bedroom. She and her 8-year-old sister have bunk beds and love having sleepovers. When they wake up in the morning, the first thing we hear is whispering. The second thing is laughter. And I don’t mean the soft, quiet kind. I mean the belly-laugh kind that you can’t help but smile when you hear.
My kids can laugh that way because they feel safe and unburdened. They don’t wake up worrying about what the day holds. They wake up hopeful. Of course, there are moments of tears when things don’t go their way, but without fail, they wake up every day with joy.
When I imagine Jesus looking at the children in today’s scripture, I can imagine the kindness in His eyes as He told them to come to Him, a kindness that told them He was trustworthy. Then Jesus says, “The Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children.” Just like those kids approached Jesus uninhibited, and just like my kids wake up feeling unburdened, we can also go to Him with confidence and trust Him to handle what we can’t. We can know that He is faithful, that He cares, that we belong with Him. He has extended the best gift of love we could ever receive, and we don’t have to try to earn it or worry about what comes next.
The freedom of knowing that Jesus carries our burdens so we don’t have to brings peace no matter what we find ourselves facing. Even in the hard times, we can still have those belly-laugh moments like my kids do because we can have joy in all circumstances.
Tuesday’s Reflection
Take a few minutes today to ask God to give you that peace that comes with knowing Him. Then ask Him to give you opportunities to share joy and laughter with the people around you.