Learning to Laugh-Proverbs 31:25

“She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.” – Proverbs 31:25 (NLT)

I’m writing this at the tail end of what has been an unforgettable vacation. The kind of time that fills your heart and leaves a lasting imprint on your soul. I spent a whirlwind two-day stint in New York where I was treated to a world-class makeover—an experience that made me feel seen, celebrated, and refreshed. Then, I traveled to Orlando, where I had the immense honor of baptizing my niece during our family reunion weekend. What a moment—standing with her, surrounded by family, helping to usher her into a public declaration of faith. My heart is full.

In so many ways, I’m never short on memorable moments. I collect them like the my Husband, Keith, and I collect during each of our many adventures. It's been a struggle to find space on my refrigerator—vivid reminders of God’s grace and favor.

But just as I was settling into the last week of vacation, something shifted. I noticed a change in my body. Something unexpected and concerning. At first, I brushed it off. I still had seven days to relax, and I wasn’t going to let anything steal that time.

But as the days passed, the issue didn’t go away—it got worse. Suddenly, my mental space was no longer on poolside lounging or quiet mornings with coffee. I was making appointments, ordering tests, waiting on results. In an instant, my entire focus turned toward the unknown. And just like that, my vacation was over—not by schedule, but by spirit.

I find myself in a space many of us know too well: waiting. Wondering. Wrestling with unanswered questions and uncertain futures. It’s hard to laugh when life throws a curveball. The kind of laughter that Proverbs 31:25 talks about feels almost foreign in moments like these.

“She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.”

That verse doesn’t say she laughs because her future is certain. It doesn’t promise that all her questions are answered or that her path is perfectly smooth. It simply says she laughs. Why?

Maybe she’s developed a posture that sees uncertainty but chooses not to be ruled by it.

Maybe strength and dignity aren’t the absence of fear—but the presence of faith in the face of it.

And maybe—just maybe—laughter is not just a response to good news. Maybe it’s a bold act of defiance against despair. A declaration that, no matter what comes, I will not let worry steal my joy. I will not let anxiety write my story.

That doesn’t mean we ignore reality. Trust me, I’m in it. I’m refreshing my inbox more than I’d like, waiting for answers I can’t control. But what if in the waiting, I also laugh? What if laughter becomes a spiritual practice—an act of trust in a God who sees what I cannot?

The woman in Proverbs 31 has found her footing not in certainty but in confidence—confidence in the One who holds the future.

So today, as I step back into the unknown, I’m choosing to laugh. Not because I know how this ends, but because I know who goes with me.

And that changes everything.