Laughing at the Time to Come

            When I first learned that I was pregnant with our six child, now 20-month-old Sean, it seemed to me as if my world imploded.  I was sure I didn’t have the strength to carry or care for another child, and my lack of faith made for a difficult first few months of pregnancy. 

When I had difficulty sleeping early last September, I wondered if the cause of my insomnia might be baby number seven.  In the early weeks of my previous pregnancies, though exhausted, I’d experienced the same trouble sleeping.  In the wee hours of Labor Day 2015, when sleep persistently refused to come, I got out of bed, and quietly rummaged through the hall closet until I found was I looking for: an old but unused pregnancy test.  My suspicions were confirmed.

        I went back to bed and snuggled up to my sleeping husband, and I started to laugh.  Audibly, I laughed.  And if there where angels in the room that night, I don’t think they would have asked why I was laughing: they would have laughed along with me.  My laughter was the laughter of the virtuous woman in Proverbs 31:25: “Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come” (ESV).

Why does that godly woman laugh?  She laughs because she knows Who holds the future.  She laughs because she knows His thoughts toward her are thoughts of peace, and not of evil.

What brought about the dramatic change in my response to babies six and seven?  If I was so overwhelmed when I was expecting baby six, why was I not with baby seven?  It’s true that the dynamic in our home has change somewhat.  Our older children are two years older and subsequently more responsible and dependable.  But I’m convinced that my improved response was brought about by increased time in God’s Word.  I began writing daily devotionals for a church magazine at the beginning of 2015, and that assignment necessitated hours spent studying and writing about the Bible.

There have been days since when my faith has not been so strong, when I consider the future with fear rather than with laughter.  Still, God’s living and powerful Word is continuing to teach me how to be full and how to be empty, and how to be content in whatsoever circumstance He has placed me.  His Spirit continues to work fruit in my life through that Word, and for that I am profoundly and eternally grateful to the Father of Lights, the Giver of every good and perfect gift. 

What do you face as you look to 2016 and beyond?  Are you able to laugh at the time to come?  God has made me to laugh.  Will you laugh with me?