September 14th

"Even in laughter the heart may be in pain, and the end of joy may be grief." proverbs 14:13

This verse really hit me. I feel like God is telling us to dig deeper, deeper than the surface. Is someone truly 'fine' if they were frowning just a moment ago before asking them "is everything alright?" Should we just brush that off as if they are all okay if they can stiffle out a chuckle?
We are fools if we see laughing without looking at the context of the bigger picture. So often we walk the halls at school seeing so many people laughing and smiling and thinking "Gee, they seem so happy...their lives must be perfect."
We as warriors should look deeper than a simple smile. Pain doesn't just disappear with a laugh.Sometimes, people use laughter to hide their pain. If you've ever made a new friend that you thought was one of the happiest people, never had an unhappy moment, never cries, never feels despair, you know this firsthand.
When I was in 4th grade, I remember befriending the prettiest girl in the whole class. I thought she was the happiest girl ever, all she did was giggle and smile. Then we got closer, and I realized that was just an act. She wasn't truly happy. She used laughter and smiles to hide her pain, and try to deny her unhappiness.
One needs to truly know a person to see the difference in real laughter versus fake.Joy is so difficult to explain, which is why this proverb is so rich in truth. Even as we know a situation works out the way God intended it to work out--and that is joy--that doesn't mean we might not also be crying, experiencing loss, suffering.