The Laugh That Carries Us
A Meditation by Rev. Cameron Trimble
“Joy is not made to be a crumb.” — Mary Oliver
Yesterday in the US was Memorial Day, a day that asks us to pay tribute to those who have died in service to the nation. For most families, it’s also a long weekend to be together. Our youngest son and his wife came to spend the weekend with us. We cooked, talked, and after dinner, we played a game called Fishbowl—part trivia, part charades, all ridiculous joy.
By the third round, we were doubled over in laughter, our faces flushed, tears in our eyes. The room echoed with shouts and guesses and the kind of full-bodied silliness that only arrives when you feel safe enough to let go.
Somewhere in the middle of that last round, I felt a realization rise in me—quiet but revealing: I don’t think I’ve laughed like this since January 20th, 2025.
Inauguration Day.
Since then, so much of what I love—and so many people I love—have been living under threat. Every day has felt heavy with harm, with dread, with the gnawing ache of watching something sacred be dismantled. It’s been a season of endurance, of deep breath after deep breath, of holding it all together.
But laughter?
Laughter cracked something open, not because it dismissed the pain but because it stood beside it. Because it said: You are not only what has hurt you. You are still joy. You are still delight. You are still capable of being surprised by gladness.
I was reminded—this is not new. This is an old spiritual lesson, taught and retaught by people who have endured much deeper traumas for far longer than I have.
Our Black siblings have long held joy as a form of resistance. It’s what birthed jazz in the face of brutality. It’s what sang spirituals through the chains of slavery. It’s what laughed in kitchens and danced in church aisles and found life even in the margins.
Joy doesn’t wait until freedom comes. It creates the pathway to it.
We are not betraying our grief by laughing. We are strengthening our capacity to survive it, to feel deeply and remember what makes us human, to stay connected to beauty when the world feels bleak.
Let’s not treat joy as a luxury. Let’s treat it as a lifeline.
Play the game. Sing the song. Dance in your kitchen. Laugh until your ribs ache. Let joy teach you that even now—especially now—the sacred is still here, pulsing through the cracks.
We are in this together,
Cameron
Reflection Questions
When was the last time you truly laughed? What did it awaken in you?
What joy practices have helped carry you through hard seasons in the past?
How might you make room for play, creativity, or delight—even in the midst of pain?
A Prayer for the Day
A Prayer for Joy That Holds the World
Spirit of Laughter,
You who crack the sky open with thunder,
who fill lungs with breath and bellies with laughter—
meet us here.
We carry grief in our bones.
We carry dread in our newsfeeds.
And still, we ask:
Let joy rise up in us.
Not as denial.
Not as escape.
But as resistance.
As memory.
As a reminder that we are more than what breaks us.
Help us to laugh—not because everything is okay,
but because we still believe it can be.
Amen.
Spiritual Practice
Follow the Joy
This week, make joy your practice—not your reward.
Do one thing each day that brings a smile to your face. Watch a ridiculous video. Listen to music that moves your feet. Tell a story that always gets a laugh. Invite someone to play a game. Let delight interrupt your worry.
And when it comes—let it in. Let it carry you. Let it be enough for that moment.
Joy isn’t the opposite of sorrow.
It’s what lets us walk through it with our heads held high.
Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…
NEW!!! On June 4, 2025, from 7-8pm ET, join Brian McLaren, Matthew Fox, and me for an exploration of “In the Midst of Doom: Facing Our Moment and Finding Our Way” inspired by Brian’s latest book. In an age of climate crisis, political unraveling, and societal collapse, many are asking: What now? What’s worth doing when the systems around us are failing? How do we find meaning beyond hope as we’ve known it? Join us and we will explore together. Register here.
June 4, 2025, 12pm ET - Jeff Chu has written a new book on a topic close to my heart: Soil! The title is “Good Soil: The Education of an Accidental Farmhand.” I am so pleased to be interviewing him. Together, we’ll explore what it means to cultivate “good soil” in our lives, our communities, and our spiritual practices. I hope you will register. Your registration includes a copy of his new book.
July 20-25, 2025 - The Art of Wilding: A 5-Day Expedition in Wyoming for Women Leaders. Click here to learn more.
August 11, 2025, 2pm ET - Dr. Andrew Root and I will be hosting a 6 part series on Spirituality in the Secular Age based on his research. The dates are August 11, 18, September 8, 15, and October 6, 13. Mark your calendars! More on this soon.
September 4, 4:30pm ET - I will be collaborating with the Anderson Forum for Progressive Theology to host a conversation with Thomas Jay Oord on Open and Relational theology. It’s a FREE event. Register here.
October 15-18, 2025 - Converging 2025: Sing Truth Conference (all musicians invited!) at Northwest Christian Church in Columbus, OH. Register here!
I drafted a Strategic Framework for Congregations as we move into the coming years of increased authoritarianism around the world. If interested, you can download it here.
🌺🤗🌺
Thank you for this wisdom.