Laughter

I thought you might enjoy this post from Stephanie, who spends most Sundays answering questions at the information table:

During the service this past Sunday I was sitting at the information table watching Andy on the hall monitor, and I confess, I got distracted.

In my view, past the monitor and outside, there was a game going on. Kickball. Hot, sweaty grown-ups and teenagers playing guys-against-the-girls. The ball was flying and there was a lot of running. I mean all-out, no-one-makes-it-to-another-base kind of running going on—by the teenagers, too. There was arm-waving, jostling at the bases, and laughing. Lots of laughing across the grass.

I could barely hear it, though, for all the noise from upstairs. More kids—elementary-aged—on a scavenger hunt. There was excited, raucous, we-love-this-stuff kind of laughing echoing down the hallway. There was running, jostling,boisterousness—by the grown-ups, too.

Then there was host team, opening up the doors, getting ready for the flow of people to come. talking, laughing. There was a muted conversation down the hallway, punctuated with laughter.

News came that Waumba was brimming with a record number of babies. There was no-one-cries-on-my-watch kind of rocking going on. There was gurgling and bouncing and laughing—by babies, too.

I thought of what Peyton (10) had asked the night before. “What are we going to do at Access on Sunday?”

“Have a party for God!” Cutler (4) answered.

I sat there and listened to the joy of the party—all of it—rising, mingling and ringing all around me

I mean, we-are-here-to-give-our-hearts kind of joy.

Irresistible.

How-could -I-help-but-want-to-be-here kind of inviting.

I know He enjoyed every minute of it.