A Taste of Eternity

Have you ever laughed so hard you cried?

I have.  Many times.

But this past Friday, I experienced for the first time what it's like to laugh so hard and so much that your chest muscles are sore the next day.

On Friday, I took a midterm and welcomed my parents to New Haven.  (They are visiting me for Fall Break!)  On Friday evening, I was invited to 2 house parties, and I brought my parents along.  Not only did friends make an effort to make them feel at home, but they also shared the wonderful gift of humor.  By the end of the night, all of us were doubled over laughing, slapping our thighs, and nearly crying from the hilarity of it all.

Both parties were made up of a diverse and international mix of friends.  Self-deprecating humor and affectionate jokes bring people closer, and that night, I felt like I was hanging out with my spiritual and intellectual family.  Some of the things said were so funny that I almost choked with laughter.  I now know that it is possible to die laughing, simply because you can't catch your breath!

Heaven will be composed of people from every tribe, tongue, and nation.  Our world is so fragmented, and it truly weighs me down when I think of the oppressive racial and cultural barriers humanity has erected for itself.  Thank goodness for tiny glimpses of what things will one day look like.  Thank goodness for the taste of eternity I got on Friday.

I look forward to laughing all the day long when I reach the Other Side.  And I'll know I'm there because my chest muscles will be used to it, and I won't be sore the next day.