I’ve had the great pleasure in experiencing the Holy Spirit manifest in so many ways over this past decade. From the moment I finally gave in and let go to God to the many moments following that clearly led me into youth ministry, speaking and even the odd (sometimes hard to believe) moments of strangers coming to me with messages. But one of the greatest memories I have isn’t any of these unbelievable encounters, rather, it is the moment I was given the gift of laughter.
40 teens, myself and a few chaperones traveled to Alexandria, Louisiana to attend a ‘spirit filled Catholic Conference’ called Steubenville South. I was new to youth ministry and had never heard of the conferences (and quite honestly couldn’t believe I had 40 high school teens that were willing to go along on this four hour bus trip to the middle of nowhere). When we arrived the Coliseum was packed with thousands of teens and their chaperones many with their hands in the air worshiping along with the band on stage. We were late and so we were at the very top of the Coliseum almost behind the screen that faced the crowd. I looked out over the sea of rainbow colored tee-shirts and my heart fluttered like a baby in the womb.
Our group stood mesmerized by the crowd before us and their unabashed worship. We were all new to this type of charism and though the power of the spirit was flowing we were gripped by the awe and wonder of it all. By the second night the kids were comfortable to express their love in whatever way they felt called, whether it was to raise their hands in praise or to simply close their eyes and be immersed in song we were gripped by the spirit. At that time we had adoration and this is when I knew emotions could get heightened. The teens had been listening to the truth of God’s word all weekend and I could see they were ready to ‘give in and let go’. I was diligent in praying over each teen, being there for them if they needed to talk or wanted me to pray with them for specific strongholds. It was exhausting and exhilarating. By the end of the evening when the last song had been sung it felt as if I needed to tether each teen down or else they’d fly away from the sheer release of whatever burdens they’d given up.
Two men with a group to got my attention as we were leaving. One stuck his hand out and said, “I need to shake your hand. You were so good with those teens.” I put my hand in his to shake it and it was if he’d shocked me with a direct volt of the Holy Spirit. Every nerve in my body responded and I started to laugh hysterically.
I couldn’t stop laughing! The other man smiled and said, “Ah, see you’ve been touched by the spirit too!” Words couldn’t form through the laughter. Tears poured from my eyes and my stomach began to cramp I was laughing so hard. One of the young women in my group came up to me and I tried to stop so I could be attentive to her needs but it was to no avail. I couldn’t stop laughing. 🙂
It felt so good. It was the manifestation of JOY in the way we are meant to experience joy.
Daily God has ‘shown up’ in so many ways in my life that give me glimpses of that same joy and love but when I’m in a place where the suffering clouds the daily joys I think about how I will feel in the end in eternity and I smile. 😀
I wanted to share that memory today because it is such a GORGEOUS DAY outside and I feel like my past few posts have been so melancholy. I’m reminding myself that it’s OKAY to laugh even when you are in the midst of a tough time. Laughter is a gift of the Spirit and so are Tears. They both heal your soul.
Here is a YouTube video of the Bad Lip Reading NFL that has been making me laugh A LOT this past week. I’m sure many of you have already seen it but in case you haven’t and need a laugh, here you go. 🙂 “Orange peanut for me? I accept you.” 😀
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zce-QT7MGSE
Also, if you are a commuter and like to listen to AUDIO BOOKS or know of someone who does and they haven’t read EXPOSED yet, it’s out in AUDIO!!! You can find it here at Audible.com / Itunes / Amazon. Spread the word!
Enjoy your Friday!
Blessings
Shannon