SMILE! We love to do it! Smiling feels good, and if you smile at someone, they almost without hesitation, smile back. It’s like saying “hello”, only with silence. One of my favorite smiles are those of a baby. When a baby smiles, their whole face lights up! How it makes the heart swell to see the face of a smiling baby.
I have heard it takes less effort to smile, than to frown. It must be true, because it comes so naturally. We read something funny, we smile. We lock eyes with a stranger for just a moment in passing, and we smile at them. We remember memories from long ago, and smile. There are so many reasons for us to put on a happy face.
As I’m thinking about this one day, a thought came to me. Does God smile? A few days ago I was thinking about the day we got our house painted. This must have been about 15 years ago. We hired someone to come out and paint it for us. We chose a country blue color. We have a larger home, and we wanted a color that we would like over the years. Well, I was gone the day they came to paint, and by the time I got back, they were already gone. I looked at my house in horror! It was not a country blue! We came to find out there was accidently a purple chip that got mixed in with the blue, and now our house looked a purplish blue! I was so upset! I went for a walk to the park and asked God why He had allowed this to happen? After all, He does tell us in His word that all things work together for good. Hmmm….I was not feeling it right at that moment. I was at the park trying to calm down, to figure out how I was going to be able to look at this house every day. As I turned to walk back home, I looked ahead, and I could see our house from two blocks away, and at that moment I said to myself, “It looks like a great big Easter egg!” And as I said it, I saw in my mind, the most beautiful thing. I saw God laughing! Not literally, but almost like a feeling, that He was indeed enjoying this moment, and what could I do? Well, I laughed of course! I said to God, “So God, are you laughing at my house? Right then and there I felt ‘honored’ that I was able to bring a smile to the face of Jesus, (though I sincerely believed it was actual laughter)
At that moment, I accepted my Easter egg colored house, and now I don’t even see the purple. It’s there, but no where’s near to what I at first saw. The personal moment shared with God was far more precious than the perfect colored house. My only regret is, that through out my life, I wish I had brought more smiles to my heavenly Fathers face. I fall so short, but yet, He still chooses to love me, care for me and yes, laugh with me. He is an awesome God!
The Bible tells us that God loves us, cares for us, heals us, forgives us, comforts us, and disciplines us. But how often do we think about God laughing with us? You know, just enjoying fellowship with His children, even when they are angry and upset. God created emotion, so I am sure He laughs. After this experience, I set out to find a painting of Jesus laughing. I finally found it, and it is now on my wall, reminding me always, that our Lord laughs; never at us, but with us. And I will always remember that one day when just out of the blue, I pictured Him laughing at something that I was so upset with, yet in that moment I had found something much more than just my Easter egg colored house. I found that my God has a profound sense of humor and the laugh we shared is something I will always treasure. I now thank Him for allowing me and my family to live in our beautiful Easter egg colored home. God is so good.

Psalm 2:4 a He who sits in the heavens laughs;