ann kiemel

yesterday, i was sitting
in panera's. working on a blog.
head down. praying because i wasn't
"on" yesterday. but.....

i kept hearing women laugh.
hard. full-throttle. all out.
i looked up and found three
women in a booth who, for at
least an hour, threw back their
heads, and roared with joy.

i was picking up my stuff.
didn't know if i blogged very well,
but loaded down with computer and
purse and car keys, i walked over to
their booth.

"i forgot what it means to REALLY laugh.
to let go of the load of life, and thoroughly
enjoy the moment. the here and now."
they all looked up at me. somewhat shocked
by my attention. joy in all their eyes. one
of the women looked as if she had had chemo.
and her hair was growing back. they were
SO lovely.

"i'm going to write about you on my blog
because laughter is so beautiful, and you've
taught me that there isn't much of it going
on where i live. God bless you all."

as i left panera's, my eyes were shining
with tears and love and anticipation of what
Jesus is going to bring us all in the days ahead.

just reminding you
that Jesus created laughter
as a healing source we can dip into
on the darkest of days.
love, ann