Laughing Forward

This morning I am thinking about the time I took my daughter, Ari, to tour the first college she chose to attend.  My mom was so excited and had asked if she could come along with us.  Being one who is inclined to plan ahead for such things, I reserved a wheelchair to make the visit more convenient and enjoyable for her.  As our tour group moved about the campus, the three of us chatted, laughed, and imagined.  While briskly pushing Mom in the wheelchair, I was taking in every detail, realizing that this would soon be my baby girl’s home away from home.  All of us heard when our student tour guide cautioned that we should be careful because parts of the sidewalk were uneven.  All of us noticed when a woman walking just ahead of us got the heel of her shoe caught on the uneven sidewalk and almost fell.  Yet, all of us were completely surprised by what happened next.  It happened so quickly…one, two, three…but I saw it in slow motion in my mind.  One, the wheelchair came to a sudden stop as its front wheels ran into a huge bump.  Two, my mom was catapulted forward out of the wheelchair.  Three, my mom landed belly down on the sidewalk.  We scrambled to help her up, asking, “Are you okay?”  She assured us that she was fine, showing us that there were no scrapes, cuts, or bruises.  Once she was settled back in the wheelchair, we started out again.  This time, we definitely went more slowly and I was much more watchful.  I don’t remember if it was my mom or Ari who started laughing first.  Whoever it was, they were soon both laughing hysterically.  They were wiping their eyes as tears of hilarity poured out.  Listening to the two of them, I couldn’t resist laughing too.  I noticed how some of our walking companions were trying to put distance between themselves and our little sidewalk sideshow.  Somehow this only seemed to make the three of us laugh even harder.  The story has certainly earned its place on the list of our family’s funniest memories. 
 

Here at the beginning of another new year, this humorous anecdote reminds me that the Lord has more than one way of teaching me the lessons I need to learn.  One way is through His Word and through wise guidance from trusted friends or counselors.  A second way is through the example I see of others going before me.  Of course, if neither of those ways can quite get the point across, there will always be personal…perhaps embarrassing or painful…firsthand experience.  I have to smile as I recognize that there is even a lesson within this third kind of lesson.  Sometimes I just might fall flat on my belly.  Even so, I have a loving support system in my family, my true friends, and my faithful God.  They will help pick me up again.  And, I know that I will find healing, wisdom and grace if I can learn to keep a heart of laughter, even as I keep moving forward.