She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.
Proverbs 31:25
When is the last time you had a good laugh? Or participated in a funny joke? I love a good laugh. I love to laugh so hard that my side hurts, I can’t breathe and I feel good all over afterwards. My favorite are stories of people that I love getting into scrapes – or even myself getting into a situation.
We’ve heard that ‘laughter is the best medicine’ and I would tend to agree. Laughter tends to level the playing field. I am not talking about laughing at another’s expense, but rather bruh-hah-hahs because the story really is funny. Or a really good clean joke. My sister loves jokes and sends ones to each of us in the family on a regular basis. I appreciate that about my sister.
PROVERBS 31 WOMAN
The Proverbs 31 woman is a woman of courage and strength. She is one who trusts in the LORD for her daily provision, her daily strength and her daily love. By all appearances she is perfect. And we know that she isn’t because there is only one perfect man – Jesus. So, what was her secret? The LORD. She pressed in so she could press on.
In verse 25 we see the type of clothing she has. Strength and dignity. These are not dime store items made of inferior fabric. Rather, these were bought with a price of untold worth. The cost was paid in full at the Cross. Jesus paid it all, and we are the recipients of this great treasure – spotless garments allowing us to stand in the presence of a holy God.
Because she wears these priceless (to us) garments, the woman is able to laugh at the days to come. She does not fret, worry, wring her hands, or medicate the pain. She laughs. How in the world is this possible? That’s just it. It’s not of this world. It’s outside of this world and not of our flesh. It is in God and in Jesus that she can whoop it all for Jesus.
Doesn’t that sound refreshing? I think so. With my son’s wedding staring at me in the face being only 2 weeks away, I am in need of this reminder. I am excited for this big celebration, but this momma heart hurts. I am excited to see all our family and friends join us in the celebration of the union of my son to his bride. She is an answer to my prayers. I am thrilled to witness a sacred event that God ordains.
So, why am I not laughing?
Feet. Loss. Different recovery than I expected.
Come on, Kerry Sue. Get over it. Laugh at the days to come. Don’t fret. There I said it. I need to remind this package that I can and should laugh. God is good and what He does is good (Psalm 119:68). He withholds no good thing for those whose walk is blameless (Psalm 84:11). All things work together for good for those who love Christ Jesus (Romans 8:28). It is good. My life is good. Even in boots with 17 months of injury and recovery under my belt and with no end in sight. God knows that I have a wedding in 15 days. God knows I did NOT want to be in my boots for the wedding. God knows that I wanted to dance the mother-son dance at the reception to Psalm 1 by Marty Goetz arranged by Andrew’s groomsman just for us. God knows all this.
JUST LAUGH
Laugh Kerry Sue, laugh at the days to come. Laugh at the moment your son kisses his bride. Laugh at the joyous celebration of a union ordained by God and witnessed by all the family and friends. Just laugh. In boots, and probably in pain. Because at the end of the day, God is still Sovereign and He is still good. And my life in Him is still perfect and good.
In typing this up I am imagining the day and a smile has crept onto my face. Mingled with a few tears, of course. He’s my son after all. But, there is rejoicing too. The antics played by the groomsmen. Of which there will be plenty, and just what I know makes me laugh. There will be joy at walking up the hill in my boots and trying not to trip and sail down the aisle. Literally. There is joy knowing that as my very good dancer of a son will twirl me around in spite of my leaden boot-clad feet. He will take care of me. And I can smile at the dance that I will have with my dear Johnny Boy at our son’s wedding. It will be sweet, memorable and filled with love.
A STORY
This post would not be finished if I did not share at least one story. When I was in high school and the first year of college, I worked at Baskin Robbins. Boy it was an awesome job. All the ice cream I could eat in all the 31 flavors. How our boss trusted us youngsters to take money, serve customers, clean up, stock up, make special order desserts and more is beyond me. But he did. Day after day, night after night. One day I was working my shift with a couple of friends from school. As usual, we had so much fun. On this particular day one of the guys told a joke. And it was the kind that I don’t remember too well now, but the result was memorable. We got to laughing so hard that we could not serve our customers. We tried. We hid with laughter behind the counter ducking down so they couldn’t see us. Right. As if someone could not see a bundle of laughter right before them holding their cones and flailing them around trying not to dump the misshapen scoops onto the floor. We tried stifling it but absolutely could not. Even a glance at one another brought on more giggles. The customers were baffled at our inside joke, and our inability to scoop up a single cone. It was awful for them and basically awful for us because we then began to laugh ourselves sick. How we managed to get them served and out of the store I am not sure. But we did and then continued to laugh the rest of the day. I am not sure if we carried our joke into the whipped cream, but we just might have. The kind where you ready-aim-fire with a can of whipped cream. We were on a roll and in a mess. Oh, the joys of a good laugh. I am sure the customers on that day thought the Three Stooges serving ice cream were trying out a new gag. Well, we were.
Our Proverbs 31 woman is right to think that her clothing is strength and dignity. And wearing those clothes, she CAN laugh at the days to come. Because Jesus gives us these robes of righteousness and He is already in our future. No need to worry, just laugh and choose joy.
PRAYER
Jesus, thank You for laugher. Thank You for giving me garments of strength and dignity. Thank You for being in my future so I can trust and laugh. Thank You for being good and doing good. And that good is for me. It satisfies. It brings me joy. It makes me laugh with heart-felt gratitude. AMEN