This LP Women’s blog is coming to you in the month when we start school. In 2020. During a global pandemic. I know, we are all tired of thinking about it. We are all tired of hearing about it. We are all super tired of not knowing how to discern truth and wisdom from all the noise. And sometimes, we just want to throw our hands up and say, “Whatever! I’m not in control anyway!” And then, give a great big hearty laugh in the face of it all.

Turns out, I’m gonna permit you to do just that. Straight. From. Scripture.

As I prayed about what to share with you girls this month, nothing was surfacing. I just kept thinking through the distress I have heard from friends. The worry from teachers. The desire to do the right thing but having little to no way of knowing exactly what that is. The daunting approach of the school year and all that it may mean for us and our kiddos. I thought about how the rabbit hole of 2020 is deep, and it doesn’t take much to lose ourselves in it — because we have no idea what is coming. And that’s when it surfaced:

“...she can laugh at the days to come.” Proverbs 31:25, NIV

Really, Lord? The Proverbs 31 woman? That’s what you’re giving me? The lady who has it all together and makes her clothes? The super-productive lady who has a great marriage, children who praise her, and well-toned arms on top of it? Oh no. I don’t think she’s quite what we need right now. We are in a mess!

No, my child. I don’t need you to compare yourself to her. I need you to hear her laugh.

Laugh. My dear sisters, in this blog we have promised to share with you what can happen in our lives when we put Jesus first. There are so many things we could focus on but today, we are going to focus on the idea that when we put Jesus first, we put ourselves in a position to think happily about the future even when things are a mess. Like they are right now.

The Proverbs 31 woman does a lot of things well (obviously) but one of the things I love the most is that she comes across as an especially “unruffled” sort of person. And, hear me clearly, this is not because of her. I don’t want you to think that she’s just inherently some sort of person you’re not. The reason she can be this way is because she lets Jesus go first. He goes first in her thoughts. He goes first in her reactions. He goes first in her planning. And, He goes first when she thinks about “the days to come” and that lets her laugh.

Here are a few other translations I found just for reference:

And she smiles at the future. NASB
She laughs without fear of the future. NLT
She is confident about the future. CEB

I don’t know if I can make my clothes as she does. And, if I end up homeschooling, these children will probably not be singing my praises every day. But I could use a laugh. I could use a lot of laughs. And, I’d love to smile at my future because I am confident about the God who will meet me there.

That’s the difference. The reason the Proverbs 31 woman can laugh at the days ahead is because she knows who holds them. And, this doesn’t just give her peace in the moment. It gives her confidence that the days ahead are nothing to fear. So much confidence that it makes her smile.

So, laugh. As you think about the days to come and things are dark, remember to have a sense of humor about the ridiculousness of it all. God is very much in control of whatever is ahead, and He does not intend for us to walk around in sackcloth and ashes until it’s all over. He’s okay with a giggle at the future every once in a while. In fact, He acknowledged her for it.

Be confident in your future, my sisters. Put Jesus first and smile. After all, no one ever left this earth saying, “I laughed entirely too much.”

-Anne Rulo