No time

No time to read.  No time to see friends.  No time to cook dinner.  No time to exercise.  No time to get everything done that needs to be done.  Why does it always feel like there is not enough time?  Why am I always in a hurry, always frantic, always late, always behind, always overwhelmed, always stressed?

My Spring Break began at 3:30 on Friday.  As I drove away from school, I began to think about how to spend this newly acquired time.   My first thought was to get rid of my watch, that bossy old man that ticks away my life, chides me for not submitting to his deadlines, and who cheerlessly moves forward whether I want him to or not. 

As I looked down at my wrist to get rid of this merciless taskmaster, I discovered that I had already haphazardly flung the watch into my school bag.

Before the the thoughts had become words in my mind, my heart must have cried out for no time.  No deadlines.  No hurry.  No rush.  No more minutes to watch disappear.  No more crushing despair and sense of constant failure.

My soul was crying out for the endless summer days of childhood.  For time-free moments with family and friends.  For laughter and joy.  For a peaceful heart.

We were not made for time.  That is why it feels so uncomfortable and strange to us.  Like a garment too small, we adjust and readjust trying to make it fit.  But time will always feel too small because we were made for eternity, life outside of time.

'We are so little reconciled to time that we are even astonished at it. 'How he's grown!' we exclaim, 'How time flies!' It's as strange as if a fish were repeatedly surprised at the wetness of water. And that would be strange indeed; unless of course, the fish were destined to become, one day, a land animal'.  - CS Lewis

 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.  Ecclesiastes 3:11

Antsy

I am starting to get antsy.  Why haven't we heard anything from RUF yet?

This summer, Andrew and I got approved to do RUF, the university campus ministry of the PCA.  During our final assessment meeting, we were given the stamp of approval, but we were also told not to put all our eggs in one basket.  They told us that they would be evaluating what campuses would need ministers, but that we would need to wait patiently during the process.

Well...we have been waiting...since July....

We are excited about the future.  Moving to a new place feels like an adventure.  Andrew and I both are looking forward to being "the Shanks" somewhere new.  Not just Andrew and Trish, still with our separate sets of social circles and obligations, like we are here.  We can't wait to have a new home with space in the backyard for a garden and maybe some chickens.  We are excited about having college kids in our home for Bible study and Wednesday night dinners.

But we haven't heard anything.  Not a peep.

I am getting antsy.  Not anxious antsy.  Excited antsy.  Can't wait to know where are going antsy.

Just the other week I was looking out my classroom window, thinking about the future, and admiring the bright red tree that sits close by. There was a little bluebird sitting on the end of a branch, looking out to the sky.  It hopped around on the branches.  It played with another bird.  It was beautiful.  It made my heart happy.  As it flew away my mind was filled with a gentle reminder:

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? - Matthew 6: 25-27

Uh oh!  Maybe I am not just antsy, maybe I am worried.  Busted!

My worry was uncovered a few days later as Andrew and I were on a walk.  As we talked RUF and the future, he mentioned how we would have to move in June to wherever we might be called.  What?  That soon?   I panicked.  My heart and my mind began to race.  My true feelings about the future bubbled to the surface.  We don't have very much money saved.  We will have not had time to raise all the money we will need.  What if there is a little Shank on the way?  What if we don't like where we are going?  What if they don't like us? What if, what if, what if?

Matthew 6...don't worry, your Father knows...

Maybe I am antsy because if I knew where we were going I could start looking for that house that has room for chickens and college kids.  And we could start looking for our new church where we could be "the Shanks."  If I knew where we were going I could at least start dreaming about it and planning for it.

Look at the birds...

Maybe it is a grace that we do not know yet.  If I knew, perhaps my mind and my heart would begin to move on from Charlotte, from my friends, from our church, from my job.  Maybe not knowing is a gift that allows me to continue being present here, to keep teaching, to keep investing, to keep living.

I don't want to check out mentally and fail to live fully in every moment of my last year of teaching at SouthLake- my students deserve better, my colleagues deserve better, the Lord deserves better.  I don't want to spoil sweet times with friends because my gaze has moved from them to the future- These moments with them cannot be regained.  I don't want my heart to move on, forgetting what is in front of me- There is so much now to be had.

I don't want to miss the now.  I will keep looking at the birds.

A better rest

Summer is winding down and I am getting a sinky feeling in my stomach.  Where did the time go?  How did the summer get away from me so quickly?  Why is the list of summer to-dos still basically untouched?  I envision little Trish, with hands pressed forward trying stop the speeding train that is time. 

In just two weeks the kids will fill up the halls again.  Homework will be assigned.  Quizzes will be given.  Audible groans will be heard.  Students will look longingly out of classroom windows thinking about anything and everything but math and Spanish and literature.

I'm not ready!

Maybe summer is different when you are an adult.  Maybe I don't feel like I've had a summer break because I didn't experience a child-like summer.  A summer where days are long and clocks tick slowly.  There is no sense of time slipping by, no reason to wear a watch.  Just endless days and books to read, pools to swim in, friends to see.

As I mourn my lost summer and continue to long for rest, I am reminded of a better rest, a summer rest that will not end.  "So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God..."

 The term is over:  the holidays have begun.  The dream is ended:  this is the morning.” And as He spoke He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them.  And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after.  But for them it was only the beginning of the real story.  All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page:  now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read:  which goes on forever:  in which every chapter is better than the one before.” The Last Battle, CS Lewis

Enough

This spring our Sunday school class was studying the Gospel of John. As we read through John 17, which is the record of Jesus' prayer for his disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane, I felt a prick of hope followed by conviction followed by hope again. 

"Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth." - John 17:17

First, Hope:   Jesus is praying that God would sanctify all believers-That he would make them whole and holy.  If Jesus is praying, of course His Father will answer!  This is a prayer that will happen.  We can count on it.  My Father will free me from all the sin and brokenness that entangles: selfishness, insecurity, lack of trust, pride, anger, anxiety, worry. And He will make me more like His Son: patient, kind, loving, gentle, faithful, wise.

Then came conviction:  When I see sin or brokenness in my life, I tend to give myself a diagnosis: "selfish," and then, forgetting about the words of life and instruction given in God's word, I hunt for some other book that will cure me.  I run to man's words and thoughts and solutions.  I especially run to counseling books for things I am afraid of or think I will fail at: How to have a great marriage, How to raise children, How to overcome anxiety, how to be a good wife, how to _________.

And then came hope again: The answer to all my how-to questions is within Jesus' prayer: "Sanctify them by the truth, YOUR WORD is TRUTH."  God's word is the answer and His word is enough!

All Scripture is God breathed.  It is useful for teaching, correcting, rebuking and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16).

God's word is living and active, sharper than any double-edge sword.  It lays bear the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).

The Word of God will accomplish what the Lord purposes and desires (Isaiah 55:11).

It is able to make us wise unto salvation through faith in Christ (2 Timothy 3:15).  

When we do the word, we find liberty (James 1:22-25).

Meditating on God's word makes us like a tree planted by streams of water, whose leaf does not whither, who bears fruit in season (Psalm 1).

The Word of God is enough! 
 
God's word can....

Call me to repentance when I am selfish and point me to the forgiveness and grace available to those who confess their sin (1 John 1:9)

Show me how to grow in Christ by staying connected to the vine (John 15:5)

Teach me to know how to love as Christ loved (John 13:34, John 15:13)

Give me wisdom to raise children by training them up in the ways of the Lord (Prov. 22:6)

Give me faith to believe that my past is not my future and that God's plans are for my good (Romans 8:28-30)

Give peace when anxiety threatens to undo me by teaching me to cast all my anxieties on HIM because HE cares for me (Phil. 4:4-9, 1 Peter 1:7)

Point me to Christ, the author and perfecter of my faith, the one who gives everything I need for life and godliness (Heb. 12:1-2, 2 Peter 1:3) 

The Word of God is enough!    

Many have found Jesus' words difficult.  After one particularly hard teaching many who had once followed Christ began to desert Him.  Jesus turned to his disciples and asked, "You do not want to go away also, do you?" My heart answers with Peter, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.<sup>"

We do not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from God's mouth (Matthew 4:4)</sup> 

Lessons of the garden

I am a novice gardener.  My very first garden was made up of tomatoes, cucumbers, and green beans planted in a little 3x6 raised bed in the backyard.

Actual gardening seemed easy enough: insert seed, add water, watch grow...right?  Not being a fan of reading directions, or following them, even if I do happen to read them,  I took no notice of the label on the seed package that explained how far apart to space each seed.  Obviously, if you want more vegetables then you should plant more seeds.  Who cares if you have a small garden plot?!  Pack 'em in closer!

My mind was filled visions of the little 3x6 garden producing pounds of tomatoes, beans and cucumbers, perhaps even enough to build a little roadside stand to sell them to neighbors.  Instead of pounds of tomatoes,  there were just some scraggly plants that produced only a fistful of green beans and 2 pitiful tomatoes.

And I learned a lesson.  Plants need space to grow.  They need room to spread out their stems.  They need plenty of soil to not have to compete with other plants for nutrients.  More plants does necessarily not mean more vegetables. 

I think I've been trying this same approach in life: More activity equals more fruitfulness.  Cram in activity after "important" activity.  Every need feels like a call to action and participation.  Every invitation is returned with a "yes."  Every spare moment or empty space of time must be filled in.

But in the end, I am exhausted and wondering where the fruit is. Yeah, there's a couple of green beans and a little tomato or two, but not much worth eating.  If my life is a 3x6 garden, everything is packed in a little too close.

As school winds up this year, I am exhausted and overwhelmed and trying to learn the lessons of the garden.  My life is small and I am only one person.  I want to live a fruitful life for Christ, but perhaps I have thought about it incorrectly.  In this fast-paced culture, where importance and success is measured in numbers and results, slowing down and focusing on just a few things can be guilt-inducing-"Why aren't you doing more?"

But what if real fruitfulness is found in less and not more? Or maybe less and more.  Less frantic activity and more letting the roots run deep and fully being in those few areas where I choose to sow my life.

So little by little, I am plucking up the extra plants crammed into my life.  It is difficult to decide which ones to keep and which to discard.  But even as I do, I begin to see the ones that are left begin to spread out their leaves and fill into the newly cleared space.  And out in the backyard our garden is also growing, with perfectly spaced plants reaching out and up and little tomatoes ripening on the vine.

Tomatoes!  Thanks to my husband who actually reads directions about spacing
and is helping me make space in my life :)

Food For Thought

I thought about changing the name of my blog to "Food for Thought,"  which would have absolutely nothing to do with real food and everything to do with the thoughts my mind is chewing on.

Hopefully my mind is chewing on truth. I once heard a guy say that truth is the mind's food.  I think he is right.  As my mind chews on the truth and deposits it into my heart, I find that I am changed, I am different, I am growing.

I need truth.

I want to be a truth eater.  Man does not live on bread alone, after all.

Longing and old furniture

I don't understand it.  What is the ache, the longing I feel when I see old furniture?

This past week I found myself winding through the furniture department of the Salvation Army.  My finger trailed along the arms of various chairs.  Old dresser drawers were pulled open and inspected.  Tables and chairs were transported into the dining room in my imagination.

Then, unexpectedly, my heart began to ache.  I found myself longing for family and for home: husband and children around a big old farm table, house cozy and welcoming, a garden colorful with fresh fruits and vegetables.  I ached for history and connectedness to the past: family traditions passed down, the smell of grandmother's old furniture, stories of ancestors from distant lands.  Then I longed for old things to be made new: old dressers painted in fresh colors, discarded picture frames rescued and re-purposed, Victorian silver platters polished and proudly displayed.

Perhaps this ache is for something yet to come.

In Christ-  We have a family and a home, and one day we will all feast with our King.  We have a glorious history connected to all the faithful saints who have gone before us.  And we have the promise of everything old being remade and renewed.

⁷ Let us rejoice and exult
    and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
    and his Bride has made herself ready;
⁸ it was granted her to clothe herself
    with fine linen, bright and pure”—

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

⁹ And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”  Rev. 19:7-10

The picture and the truth

I picture myself cool, calm, collected.  Unafraid and unaffected.  Unmoved and unmovable.  Head held high, confident.  Serene, peaceful.

But I am none of these, and the picture is, well...only a picture.  I am, as someone recently said, "flappable".  Easily affected, moody, emotional. Agitated and anxious.  Worried, stressed.  Anything and everything but peaceful.

I am not sure how to be different.  Why do so many things, both external and internal, have the power to affect my mood?  To make me happy or sad.  I don't like it.  My emotions are too much in charge, my mind often unchecked.

This cannot be.

Needing rest, peace...

⁵ For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
    for my hope is from him.
⁶ He only is my rock and my salvation,
    my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
⁷ On God rests my salvation and my glory;
    my mighty rock, my refuge is God.

⁸ Trust in him at all times, O people;
    pour out your heart before him;
    God is a refuge for us. Selah              Psalm 62:5-8

Fall friends

There is nothing new under the sun. And so my mind turns again to thinking of life in terms of the changing of the seasons. I love the fall. I have been longing for Fall. Warmish days and cool evenings. Crunchy leaves and warm drinks. Pumpkins and corn mazes. Bonfires and toasty marshmallows.

But fall always comes with a cost, with loss, with an ending.  The weather cools, the days shorten, leaves fall.  I have been longing for the season of life in which I now find myself, but at the same time I am experiencing the shifting seasons of friendships.  A fuller schedule and changed time commitments make it difficult to spend time with friends.  Some friends have moved away. Others have changed churches. Still others have had their own life changes or made choices that have taken us along different paths.

I love the fall, but I am grieving the loss of summer. I am enjoying being married, but I grieve the loss/transition/change of so many friendships all at once.

But this, like so many others, is just a season.  So let those leaves fall! I will enjoy the season as it is:  beautiful death, leaves red, orange, and yellow, making room for something new.   The trees won't always be bare;  I am hopeful for a future spring.  Friendships revived or new ones birthed.

the answer

HIS presence is the answer to all my fears...

 “When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt... let not your heart faint. Do not fear or panic or be in dread of them,  for the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.’ - Deuteronomy 20:1-4

 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.  - Joshua 1:9

 But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
    he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
    I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
    and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
    and the flame shall not consume you.
 For I am the Lord your God,
    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
    Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
 Because you are precious in my eyes,
    and honored, and I love you,
I give men in return for you,
    peoples in exchange for your life.
 Fear not, for I am with you;  -Isaiah 43:1-5

“Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”  - Mark 6:50

They shall call his name Immanuel, (which means, God with us). - Matthew 1:23

again

Hard to believe that we are already two and a half months into the school year.  Our first quarter has just ended, we had parent/teacher conferences this week, cross country will be over in one more week.

The beginning of this school year has been more difficult that most.  I find myself overwhelmed quickly and I feel like I am not able to do anything well---planning, grading, disciplining, teaching, etc.  Coaching seems an impossible task.  We have almost 50 runners and only 1 coach.  I never feel like I am enough for them....workouts should be better, quality time with each runner rarely happens, we don't have devotions often enough.

Guess I will have to ask the Lord for help... again...

It seems the Lord is having to remind me over and over  (and over and over and over) that I can do nothing on my own.  And even when  feel like nothing is what I would like it to be, He is still at work.

So I ask for help and He does.  He loves to help. He loves to be glorified through answered prayer.  A particular student has been frustrating to deal with, so I try in my own strength to get her "in line."  It doesn't work.  I ask for my Father's help and strength and wisdom and things begin to change.  My heart changes toward her.  I feel more patient, but also more confident to love through discipline.  Her demeanor changes.  She tells me she is trying to not be as disruptive.

Why do I always start in my own strength?  My memory of my own ability is far too short.

Apart from me you can do nothing...
John 15:5

Dependence Day

Happy 4th of July, everyone!  (well, actually, I started this post on the 4th, and I am just now finishing it).

I give up. I surrender.  It is time to hoist the white flag. I am tired of being independent.  Too long have I been relying on my own shallow wells of wisdom and and strength.  Too long trusting in my own resources, my own talents.

I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.  - John 15:5

This morning I was struck again with how needy I am, even in the seemingly little things in life.  I can't sit still to spend time reading the Word.  I struggle to stay focused to get important things done.  I avoid things I don't know how to do or don't feel like doing and end up letting people down. I can't organize my time well to save my life.  I'm grouchy and unloving, impatient and self-serving even though I don't want to be.

In A Praying Life, Paul Miller reminds us to as little children, acknowledging our desperate need of our heavenly Father.

Jesus does not say, “Come to me, all you who have learned how to concentrate in prayer, whose minds no longer wander, and I will give you rest.” No, Jesus opens his arms to his needy children and says, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” The criterion for coming to Jesus is weariness. Come overwhelmed with life. Come with your wandering heart. Come messy.

It is interesting that the words humble and human come from the same root word, humus, meaning dirt.  It is a good reminder that we come from dust and end as dust.  We come with nothing and leave with nothing.  Everything we do have comes from our Creator.  We are the created and by definition, we are dependent on the Creator to create, to sustain, to provide for us.  The only appropriate response is humility and dependence.  We are always in the position of need and receiving.

So, in honor of the 4th of July, I would like to use today not to declare my independence, but to declare my dependence.  Apart from me you can do nothing...

beautiful

Kindness is always beautiful.

This phrase has often been in my thoughts the past few days.  My 32nd birthday was last month, and I find myself checking the mirror more frequently, wondering if I look older, wondering if my clothes fit funny, wondering why my face still breaks out like I'm in middle school, wondering if I'm beautiful.

I am thankful that there is a beauty, a true beauty that never fades.  Father, help me to wear these:

Love.

Godliness.

Humility.

Faithfulness.

Gentleness.

Compassion.

Patience.

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. 1 Peter 3:3-5

Christ is always beautiful.  Let us put on Christ. 

let love grow here

This spring I have tried sprucing up the front yard a bit.  I pulled weeds and trimmed bushes.  I planted a rose bush and some friendly looking little blue flowers to welcome me home each day.

The roses, the little flowers, and the not so well trimmed bushes are lovely, but the plant that captures my heart is the tree that lives in the corner of my front yard close to the street.  I don't know what kind of tree it is.  I just call it the heart tree.  It branches out wide, but not tall.  In the early spring it has sweet little pinkish purple buds.  Later the buds are replaced with pods that remind me of peas.   The pods, newly fallen, spring up quickly filling my yard with seedlings.  Everywhere the pods fall, little heart shaped sprouts grow.  Then, finally, the blooms and pods disappear altogether to give way to hand-sized heart-shaped leaves, full and verdant.

The heart tree has turned into a prayer.  A prayer that love would grow in my home.  That it would flourish like a tree by streams of water.  That my home would be a place of shade and joy and comfort and rest.  That whoever enters would feel loved and be filled with love to give others.

Father, let the love of Christ grow here.

Love that glowed from it like firelight from its windows at night. 
- On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, Andrew Peterson

true strength

I saw her stand up and take her place today.  The place had always been hers, but she had not always claimed it as her own.  Perhaps she didn't believe that she deserved it.  Or maybe she did not believe herself able to fill shoes that seemed so big.  But today she did, and she radiated with glory, strength, and beauty.  The shoes to fill were her own all along.  Today she did what she was created to do. 

Her children arise and call her blessed. Proverbs 31:28

plant hope

My good friend Christina recently gave me a gift.  The card that was attached to it read, "For planting hope..."

by streams of water

at Jetton Park in Cornelius

Thinking of some of my favorite verses this morning.

Jeremiah 17
 ⁷ “But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
   whose confidence is in him.
⁸ He will be like a tree planted by the water
   that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
   its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
   and never fails to bear fruit.”

Isaiah 61
³ They will be called oaks of righteousness,
   a planting of the LORD
   for the display of his splendor.  

Psalm 1
¹ Blessed is the man
   who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
   or sit in the seat of mockers.
² But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
   and on his law he meditates day and night.
³ He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
   which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
   Whatever he does prospers.
 ⁴ Not so the wicked!
   They are like chaff
   that the wind blows away.
⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
   nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
 ⁶ For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
   but the way of the wicked will perish.

that ship has sailed

The word "no" is a powerful, wonderful word.  Why?  Because it means "yes" to so many other things.

Here are some no's that I am thankful for (some I had to say, and some that were said to me):
- No from a school in Mexico where I wanted to teach English.  Yes to one more in year in Charlotte, teaching, coaching, and serving.
- No to a roommate. Yes to my niece and nephew who came to stay with me some last summer.
- No to a busy schedule. Yes to space for deeper friendships with fewer people.
- No to my plans and "building my own house."  Yes to the Lord's plans and seeing what HE can do.
- No to worry.  Yes to rest!!

with

The greatest gift I have been given lately is the gift of presence, of being with.

A sweet friend has invited me to spend time with her and her family several times over the last few months.  She prefaced the invitation with, "our house is a mess, but we would love to have you."  The mess was overlooked.  We ate dinner, played games, danced in the living room, listened to two boys sing 'Be a Man" from Mulan.  We laughed, we prayed, we talked, we cried, we hoped together. Presence.  With.

In the fall another friend offered several times to just come sit with me when I was feeling sad.  Not necessarily to talk or to offer advice.  Just to be.  With.

On Tuesdays some students and I go run and sometimes get tacos.  What a joy to run, to talk, to plan, to laugh.  To be.  With.

It is all these people being "with" that have comforted my soul.  We have walked together. Shared life together.  Lived.  With.

It is the gift that God has given us.  Emmanuel, God WITH us.  He has not left us as orphans, but has given us a counselor.  The Holy Spirit.  With.

This gift has been given to me, but it is also mine to give.  Ours to give.

With.

So we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.  1 Thessalonians 2:8

laughter

He was longing for a son to give an inheritance to, but almost a century had passed and there was still no heir.  Yet the Lord spoke to him, saying, "Count the stars....so shall your offspring be."

It was thought that she was too old, that she would never be able to have children.  She laughed in disbelief at the idea of bearing a son in her old age.  Yet Yahweh Himself asked her, "Is anything too hard for the Lord?"

God had promised.

They waited.  Time passed.  They stumbled in unbelief and tried to bring about the promise through their own wisdom and means.

Then, at the exact time that God had indicated, a son was born.  He was named Isaac, Yitzhak, laughter.  Though God seemed late and His promise seemed far off, He proved Himself faithful.  Laughter of disbelief became laughter of joy. 

Father, bring us the laughter of joy as we wait and trust in you.  Your timing is perfect and your promises are true.  There is nothing too difficult for you!