A few weeks ago, I was in Montreal, Canada,
enjoying a few days with my oldest son, his wife, and
their 16 month old son, Joshua. The four of us drove one
day to Quebec City and were exploring the Old Town, the
fort and city that had been built hundreds of years ago
on the Saint Lawrence River.
Joshua was just learning to walk, and I
was shepherding him around the tourist-packed cobbled
streets while his parents were in one of the shops. As
is typical of children that age, he had decided he no
longer wanted to hold my hand, demanding to explore freely
without grandmotherly restraint. Suddenly, he realized
that his mom and dad were not in sight. He began to get
anxious. Just at that moment, my son appeared about 25
feet away. He knelt down and opened his arms wide as Joshua
moved toward him. A look of delight spread over Joshua’s
face and he began to chortle with an uninhibited belly
laugh as he carefully balanced himself on the uneven cobblestones
and made his way to his father. Nearly everyone on the
narrow, crowded street stopped and watched this happy,
giggling infant get swept into his daddy’s arms.
Joshua’s own laughter infected the entire crowd,
and they, too, began to laugh. Truly a contagious moment
of light-hearted joy. The son reunited with the father,
swept high into the air in those safe and loving arms,
all panic gone, replaced with unhampered love and comfort
and unrestrained laughter.
What a picture of heaven! Surely it is
a place of delighted laughter, infectious joy, and thrilling
reconciliations as we are met by the Son, swept into the
arms of our Father, and discover the complete fullness
of the Spirit. Fear disappears, heavy hearts find complete
relief, and from our mouths flow words of praise and adoration.
It all makes me think that those moments
of unrestrained laughter serve as doorways to the gracious
presence of God. There have been movements around the
world when “holy laughter” has taken over
congregations. Someone finds himself or herself so infused
with the joy of heaven that he or she starts laughing
and can’t stop. The laughter leaps from person to
person until all are consumed with joy.
I was worshipping with such a group one
night. It was a five day retreat where all of us engaged
in the disciplines of silence, study, fellowship, and
worship on a set schedule each day. After the last worship
service of each day, no words were spoken again until
the next morning when we gathered again before breakfast.
There the cantor would sing “O Lord, open my lips”
and we would all respond with “And let me sing forth
thy joy.”
This particular night, it was time to begin
our final worship time and prepare for the silence to
follow. Just before the opening words, someone got the
“holy giggles.” Those giggles spread throughout
the room. Each time the worship leaders thought things
were calm enough to go forward, someone would start laughing
again and the whole room would break up. This continued
for about 30 minutes. We were simply taken up in the joyous
presence of God that night.
Yes, these moments are foretastes of heaven.
May we all experience them often!
