.my father's laughter.

today, at wells fargo in my little town, i heard my father. i heard my father in rare form, a form that is usually reserved for fun parties, vacations or when my 2 year old niece does something hysterical.

i was walking out of the bank and off to the left, i heard the laughter of two middle aged men, a gut laughter. one of them sounded identical to my father and in that moment, my heart jumped. i think not only because it sounded like my daddy's laugh, but because that kind of laugh in his life is pretty rare. between balancing growing businesses, helping my brothers succeed in their businesses, building a new house and trying to help run a ministry in mexico, that gut laughter from my middle aged dad is a delicacy.

over christmas it happened... my two year old niece was taking imaginary bugs out of her hair and then she pulled "really stinky" imaginary bugs out of her armpits and we all gut laughed. all 8 of us adults sitting at the table. that was the last time i heard my dad's joy truly exuding from him. it is beautiful and magical.

so today, when i heard the laughter of those two men outside, i exited the building, glanced in their direction and a big smile crossed my face because of my dad, 2000 miles away. today that was my gift - the gift of my daddy's laugh, here in my back yard. thank you, abba.