Black-Tailed Prairie Dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) ~ The Mirth of God

This morning i went on a run.  The trail i take leads through a Prairie Dog village, and as i pass through they normally keep a wary eye on me but go about their usual business.  Today, however, the whole village went into an uproar at my approach!  Males sat atop their hills, thrusting their noses into the air and chirping wildly.  Females dashed to their holes, shaking their little black tails angrily.  All at once i saw what all the fuss was about.  The pale doll faces of prairie dog puppies peered out from their burrows.  The baby prairie dogs have arrived!  When I saw their tiny faces i could not help but laugh.  i must have looked like an idiot, running along the trail and laughing to myself.  i couldn’t stop!  Every time i saw a baby prairie dog I burst out laughing again!  i must have got a double workout with all the cardio from guffawing while on the jog.

i had a similar experience when I sculpted a figurine for my father.  It’s called “What Actually Happened to Curiosity”.  It’s a miniature of the rover trundling along on Martian soil when he is interrupted by a huge green creature.  When i had finished the rover part, i sat it down on my work bench and gave it a good look-over.  i busted out laughing!  i hadn’t expected it to be quite so CUTE, strange as it sounds.  It gave me a lot of joy.  We have a word for this in the English language, and it’s one of my favorite words out of all the languages: “mirth”.

Oxford defines mirth as "amusement, especially as expressed in laughter".  The interesting thing is, God is described as being mirthful!  Zephaniah 3v17 says: “The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”  The part about Him rejoicing over us is the Hebrew phrase “besimchah” which actually means MIRTH.  It’s an image of God looking at us, as i looked at those adorable prairie dogs, and bursting out with laughter. 

This is the laughter of delight.  Allow me to illustrate; my Uncle recently told me about the birth of their first child, a girl.  He said he was expecting to cry when the baby arrived.  But when he laid eyes on her for the first time he busted out laughing.  He laughed and laughed and couldn’t stop.  He was overcome with love and joy.


i love that sensation of mirth.  It’s the feeling of being tickled somewhere deep in your belly.  It is rich and full and wonderful.  How mysterious, and how delightful, that we cause that very sensation in God!


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