Please Laugh Over Spilled Lasagna

As this is the first post, I will say a few words about this blog's title. Last night, I was hanging out with a couple of friends, and we were talking about what some refer to as "surface stuff." I said at one point, with the surface having been explored (for you Latinists, note the ablative absolute), "Well, I think it's time we move down to 'Level 2!'" They laughed, and asked what I meant; I thought it was the right time for us to share about what was going on in our lives "below the surface." So, yeah: let me be the first to say, Welcome, Reader, to Level 2! Here you will find random thoughts and deep thoughts, but most of the time, thoughts about God's faithfulness. May God bless you!

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My story begins in my kitchen. I was removing a tray of lasagna from the microwave tonight, and oops! It slipped from my hands, fell to the floor with a slight "splat," and there was red sauce everywhere. I just stood still for a moment in silence, and then I laughed. Oh man: the tomato sauce reached the farthest ends of the kitchen--it was truly amazing. It took several paper towels, (yes, not very green, I know), but I finally got it cleaned up.

What is so amazing about this story? Well, my reaction. I am so grateful that today, I could just laugh! When I was little, maybe 5 or 6, I remember reaching up to the kitchen counter for a glass of milk. I dragged it to the edge of the counter and...whoosh! It sloshed all over me and the floor. I'm pretty sure that I indeed cried over spilled milk that evening, though I am also fairly certain that my parents laughed!

But isn't that what God our Father does with us when we cry over something small? Yes, it is true that when we weep, our Father and the Son do indeed mourn with us--mourning can be holy. But how often do we cry when the Father would have us laugh?

And so this is my Level 2 thought/challenge for today: How much are we willing to laugh? Laughter is a great vehicle to sanctity. Laughter, I have learned, is something we can engage in when we have given whatever we are holding tightly over to God. We can laugh because Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. Our confidence in God's love for us allows us to laugh and smile our way through the valleys in our lives, even if the valley is as small as a glass of spilled milk or a tray of lasagna. And if we can't laugh over such things, if we can't learn to react with peace and humor amidst such trivial things, then how will we be able to laugh in the face of much deeper, longer, wider valleys, such as a broken relationship or a death in our family?

God is gracious and means to make saints of us in our everyday lives. May we always be ready to respond to "spilled lasagnas" with a laugh, confident in God's love for us!