We were at Gull Meadow Farms this afternoon trying to stay warm for what’s become a bit of a tradition for families to gather and celebrate the fall season. Some of the kiddos don their Halloween costumes. Well, heck, some of the adults do as well. The fun part, though, is getting out into Pumpkin Lane and watching them (yes, kids and adults again) enjoy the activities.

Connor decided not to wear his costume and honestly? That was cool with me. I figured it would be easier for him to run around anyway and as is normal with costumes, the less you wear them, the more likely they are to hold up until the actual holiday.

Among several other activities in Pumpkin Lane, they have a jumping thing. Side note: everything today was a ‘thing’ or a ‘thingy.’ I had trouble using real words. Maybe it was the cold weather. Anyway … I just looked up the ‘thingy.’ It’s called a jumping pillow. And kids love them.

I was standing there smiling at Connor hopping back and forth and falling (purposely) at each end. There were quite a few kids and even quite a few moms and dads and even a couple college-aged love birds. Can’t you just imagine your date on the jumping pillow?

As I stood there, I kept hearing this subtle laugh. It became so frequent that I looked over to see what the woman was watching. Was it the love birds? Nah, it was actually what was likely her grandson and his mama. I heard her mention to the little boy’s dad what a difference a year could make … that last year he could barely stand on the pillow and now he was jumping up and down.

But, it was that distant sound. I’m sure her daughter (or daughter-in-law) couldn’t hear this woman laughing. But I could. I likened her laughter to that laughter we likely never hear (audibly anyway) from our father in Heaven. I believe He’s watching us laughing along with us when we’re out absolutely engaging with and enjoying life. And I can only imagine that in our pain, He is in equal pain and likely sheds tears right along with us. (I mean, where else does rain come from?!)

I read something this morning about not being able to hear God and maybe it’s because we’re listening for something we would expect to come to us audibly, like in any other conversation. But why would or should we expect that? God is so much bigger than that. The conclusion of that message was that most often, when He wants to send us a message, He passes us each other. So, I’m thankful for that woman standing next to me today. She doesn’t know it, but through her, I heard Him.