A WORD FOR TODAY, August 3, 2021
Peggy Hoppes
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Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, August 3, 2021
“Yahweh visited Sarah as he had said, and Yahweh did to Sarah as he had spoken. Sarah conceived, and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham called his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac. Abraham circumcised his son, Isaac, when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. Abraham was one hundred years old when his son, Isaac, was born to him. Sarah said, ‘God has made me laugh. Everyone who hears will laugh with me.’ She said, ‘Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age.’” Genesis 21:1-7, WEB
I don’t have any grandchildren yet, but I have a little friend who comes to visit me. He was here yesterday for a little while. The last time he came over, Bruce told me to let him play with some of his childhood trucks, and he had a great time with them. This time Bruce was home and let him play with a few different ones. I also have a cube filled with toys that I kept from my own children for the day when I will have grandchildren. We got that out last time and my little friend remembered it this time. He also remembered some of the toys from last time, and he wanted Bruce to get them out. He loves farm stuff. All his antics made us laugh.
My little friend is just at the point of being fully potty trained. We noticed the dance a couple times and his mom took him to the potty, although it was a tough task. He did not want to stop playing. He was having such a good time with the toys that he was willing to wait until it was too late. Thankfully, his mom knew better and took him in time. He is stubborn, like most children his age, and he did not want to go home. He found all sorts of ways to put off the inevitable. He knew where the toys belonged, and he wanted to take them to the room. We let him drive one of the trucks into the room, and then told him that we wanted the toys to stay in the living room for Bruce. Even though his games were a bit disobedient, we still laughed. After all, a “grandma” is meant to be a little indulgent, right?
It is good to be happy. Laughter is not always looked upon as a good thing in the scriptures. Even in this scripture, the laughter is almost out of disbelief. Sarah had laughed when she heard the promise that at ninety years old she’d have a child. Then, when her son was born she laughed again. This time, she wanted the world to laugh with her because she was finally going to know the joy have having a child in the house. God made her laugh with happiness, along with the amazement of experiencing the impossible. Children might be hard to deal with, but they also make us happy. They bring us joy because we see life and innocence and excitement in all they do. They are happy even when the surprises seem small and insignificant, and see love in the simplest gestures.
Sarah’s gift was great: she gave Abraham a son. But she knew the gift came from God and she rejoiced over His grace in her life so she could give him that son. I know part of my happiness last night and when the children were small was because I was thankful I could do those simple things for my kids. We might feel it is impossible to do what we want to do with others. We won’t be having children at an old age, and we can’t afford to purchase everything our kids want. However, sometimes the greatest joy comes from the smallest things. Happiness doesn’t come from wealth, but from generosity. The special moments give us the greatest laughter. The little things sometimes bring the greatest joy, especially given in thankfulness for all God has done for us.
A WORD FOR TODAY is posted five days a week – Monday through Friday. The devotional on Wednesday takes a look at the scripture from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday. A WORD FOR TODAY is posted on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Word-for-Today-Devotional/339428839418276. Like the page to receive the devotion through Facebook. For information and to access our archives, visit http://www.awordfortoday.org.
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