Laughter - "God's lessons from a 1 year old"

I was playing with my 1 year old last night and we started laughing. We laughed and laughed and laughed for 20 minutes or more. It was absolutely contagious, even to the point that we would just look at one another and just start laughing. It was a glorious moment.

Later I would contemplate that 20 minutes as I was doing some thinking (discerning) about my journey to ordination. I thought about the purity of a 1 year olds laugh and how "in the moment" that child is. They have no expectations, no worries, no inner dialogue (ego) talking to them - just pure bliss. They are simply reacting to a stimulus in the simplest and purest way.

I thought about how at that moment, I had turned off all my adult noise - other thoughts simply melted away. I was focused for 20 minutes on just being in each moment laughing with my son. I was the most free that I think I have been in a long time. It brought to extraordinary levels my understanding of being in the moment with whomever you are with - being present to share God's gift of another.


I often am not present in the moment. God, through my son, had provided the most incredible lesson. One that I have tried to learn and practice many times, but do not do well - to be in the moment, focused, centered, present. To get that lesson from a 1 year old. A child who only knows the moment. What an incredible teacher he is! What a gift! What abundance as I am blessed beyond compare with teachers all around me.

So, who is the next teacher and what is the next lesson? Last night my teacher was my 1 year old, Ryan. Last week it was my friend Blair. Today, it might be a homeless person playing the guitar for change. Who has God blessed you with as a teacher today? Be present in each moment and you might just be suprised!