Articles Music WDYL

Shoes Learning to laugh in the midst of sorrow by Lindsay Dyer During the memorial service honoring my brother's life, I looked down and noticed something odd. I was wearing two different shoes. I nearly burst out laughing amid the respectful silence and quiet sobs, not because I didn't care that my brother was gone, or even because I'd accidentally packed two different shoes. I wanted to laugh because I didn't notice my fashion disaster until that moment. I wanted to laugh because I knew my brother would laugh at me. Right before that silly moment, I was contemplating how empty my life would be without my brother and the depth of sorrow I felt for losing him. How could my emotions change so quickly? I began to wonder if there was something wrong with me. Is there room for laughter in the midst of great loss? Certainly, no one was laughing as Jesus stood before the tomb of Lazarus. The Scriptures say "Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb" (John 11:38). Just moments before He arrived at the tomb, the people around Him saw Him weep. The finality of death was the reality of that moment. Lazarus was gone. Jesus' dear friend, Martha and Mary's brother, was dead. But a moment later, Jesus called out to his friend, "Lazarus, come out" (John 11:43). The story continues with the man who had died walking from the tomb, still wrapped in cloth. He was alive. The Scripture doesn't supply us with the reactions of his friends and family. It doesn't even say what the expression on Jesus' face looked like. But I can imagine Him smiling, if only to Himself. Sitting at my brother's memorial, watching him stare back at me from a recent picture I held in my hands, I could smile, too, knowing that the same man who would laugh at my mismatched shoes is the boy who helped me climb onto the monkey bars, who picked me up when I fell off my bike, and who even threw mud at me if I wasn't looking. These are the moments that remind me of the hope we have in Christ. Life, made up of little moments of laughter and sorrow, doesn't end when we close our eyes to this world. I imagine I'll meet my brother again in the next life. I'm sure he'll laugh at me then.