Laugh Again

2021 is finally here. Most of us would agree that it couldn't come fast enough. 2020 felt like our mothers gave us a gigantic Time Out. Each morning I woke up to find my wife waiting with a thermometer. She wouldn't let me out of bed until she took my temperature. I was raised on Fahrenheit, so it was confusing.

"37 degrees? Shouldn't I be dead?"

"No, she said, "it's Celsius. You're fine. Give me a kiss."

Next, I adjusted my mask and we trundled off to the kitchen for breakfast, usually toast and an omelet with extra cheese and bacon and ham and four or five pieces of French toast. Then I climbed aboard the digital weigh scales and a voice said, "Whoa Phil! One at a time, please."

I'm exaggerating a little, but I did manage to gain 7 pounds last year, which was not on my list of New Year's resolutions. Ramona has given birth thrice and still fits neatly into her wedding dress. I have given birth exactly zero times and had to buy new jeans in May.

Who would have thought the world could change so fast? At the very least we've been highly inconvenienced. Church is a challenge. Our daily routines have been disrupted, adding stress and strain on our physical and mental health, on our finances. Some have lost jobs, businesses, loved ones. Others have lost hope. But is hope found in a vaccine or a politician or an economy that will mushroom?

Thanks to three adoptions during 2020 we now have 13 grandkids. Someone asked, "Are you Mormon or Catholic?"

I said, "We're exhausted. And very, very happy."

I think a child is God's reminder that no matter how dark things seem, He's not finished with this old world.

He "sustains all things," says Hebrews 1:3.

"No human wisdom or understanding or plan can stand against the Lord," Proverbs 21:30 tells us.

I can't understand what's going on, but God can. I can't quite see it from here, but Heaven's throne is occupied. And all is well.

We who have faith in Jesus believe that better days lie ahead. That no one can frustrate the plans of the Almighty. That nothing can separate us from God's love. That nothing can happen to us this year that He cannot redeem.

Psalm 33 says this: "We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield...Lord...our hope is in you alone."

I would like to officially declare 2021 as the year we stay thankful. I'm thankful for God's sovereignty, for God's presence. I'm thankful I could afford new jeans. I'm thankful I was able to wear a mask into the bank last week. Without getting arrested.

Phil Callaway is host of Laugh Again radio and the author of Laugh Like a Kid Again. Visit him at philcallaway.com.