“It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting…

Grief is better than laughter…” Ecclesiastes 7:2-3

I was reading in Ecclesiastes this morning and ran across the above phrases. Today was unusual in that I went to a funeral followed by my 8 year old grandson’s birthday party. Mourning and Laughter.

I can’t say I enjoy funerals, but I always come away changed. It is a time of reflection, of learning, about considering the path of my own life. I am impacted more by the mourning than I am by the laughter. Mourning teaches me things laughter can’t.

Does that mean we avoid laughter? No, laughter is good for the soul. It is a much needed break in a weary world. It is especially good for 8 year old boys. But I don’t grow by laughing a lot. It serves a different purpose.

Character is built by difficulties, hurt and pain. It reminds me that I am frail, that life is short, that each day is a gift from God. It reminds me that I “should be about my Father’s business”.

So Father, thank you for the laughter, but thank you for sending the mourning as well, so I can be changed.