Matthew Kelly - I Heard God Laugh: A Practical Guide to Lifes Essential Daily Habit

Copyright 2020

Kakadu, LLC

Published by Blue Sparrow

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any

manner whatsoever without permission except in the case of

brief quotations in critical articles or reviews.

ISBN: 978-1-63582-138-3 (hardcover)

ISBN: 978-1-63582-139-0 (e-book)

Designed by Ashley Wirfel

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

FIRST EDITION

Printed in the United States of America

Nothing will change your life so completely, absolutely, and forever like really learning how to pray.

Table of Contents

PART ONE

The Unexpected Life

IS YOUR LIFE unfolding the way you thought it would? I was paging through my high school yearbook recently. There were 161 young men in my graduating class, and fewer than a handful are doing what they thought, hoped, or dreamed they would be doing. Most of them are glad. When they were seventeen or eighteen, they didnt know themselves well enough to decide what they were going to do for the rest of their lives. And thats just work and career.

Life doesnt turn out the way we expect. In some ways it exceeds our expectations, and in other ways it disappoints them. There may be hopes and dreams that were part of the life we expected that we need to grieve because they didnt materialize. But there are also hopes and dreams we had when we were younger that we are glad did not come to be. We see now that we were ill-suited for them, and they were ill-suited for us. At the same time, there are things about the unexpected life that surprise and delight.

Life doesnt unfold as we plan. We all live unexpected lives in one way or another. But sooner or later, we have to decide how we are going to make the most of the unexpected life. It is then that we come face-to-face with two enduring truths: We cannot live without the hope that things will change for the better, and we are not victims of our circumstances.

You are not what has happened to you. You are not what you have accomplished. You are not even who you are today or who you have become so far. You are who and what you are still capable of becoming. You are your realized and unrealized potential. God sees you and all your potential, and he aches to see you embrace your best, truest, highest self. He yearns to help you and to accompany you in that quest.

Wherever you are, whatever youre feeling, however life has surprised and disappointed you, I want to remind you of one thing: The best is yet to come! There are times in life when this is easier or harder to believe, but the best is truly yet to come. Open yourself up to it, so you can see it and embrace it when it emerges!

A Question to Begin

Is your life working? Its a simple question, really. We cannot look at another persons life and know, but most of the time, we know how well our own life is (or isnt) working.

When we reflect upon our lives, we usually discover that in some ways they are functioning well and in other ways they are dysfunctional. What does this mean for you? It means in some ways you are flourishing, but in other ways you are experiencing dissatisfaction. God is speaking to you through that dissatisfaction. You can learn to live with your discontent, or you can accept it as an invitation.

The danger zone is marked by comfort. This is where things arent great, but they arent horrible either, so you just continue to muddle along. We gravitate toward comfort, and its amazing how comfortable we can get with things that are uncomfortable or worse. The thought of something new and unknown activates our resistance and hesitancy. These are mental, emotional, and spiritual obstacles that we all need to push through in order to move from surviving to thriving. Are you thriving or just surviving? Its time to stop muddling along.

If your life isnt working, what are you willing to do about it? Are you open to trying something new? This book is an invitation to flourish and thrive like never before.

The Missing Piece

Trying to put together a jigsaw puzzle without an important piece is incredibly frustrating. That is the story of millions of peoples lives. Day after day they are frustrated, but they dont realize they are missing a piece. They drive themselves crazy trying to put the puzzle of their own lives together without that critical piece.

The essential piece most people are missing is a vibrant spirituality.

Youre a human being, a delicate composition of body and soul, mysteriously linked by the will and the intellect. The important word here is soul . You have a soul. It is literally your life force. When it leaves your body, you die.

Its time to start paying more attention to your soul. Think about these four aspects of the human person: body, soul, will, intellect. We are obsessed with three of them: body, will, and intellect. We pamper our bodies, vigorously defend our right to decide the path we walk, and celebrate our individual and collective intellectual accomplishments. Yet, we often ignore the most important, soul. Have you been taking care of your soul? Rate yourself between one and ten. Most of us neglect the soul in favor of the body. The body is constantly barking orders at us: Feed me, wash me, clothe me, pleasure me, feed me again, and so on. The body makes a continuous stream of demands upon us. The soul, on the other hand, is quiet and faithful. When the soul is hungry, our stomach doesnt rumble and growl. But it is important to feed our soul each day.

Yes, each day. How many days has it been since you intentionally fed your soul? You are a spiritual being having a physical experience in this world. You have a soul. Feeding your soul is the missing piece of the puzzle. There is no better time than right now to nurture your inner life, discover your spiritual needs, and feed your soul.

It is time to stop ignoring our souls. The soul integrates and harmonizes every aspect of our humanity. It re-orients us toward what matters most.

The Habit

There are an unlimited number of ways to feed your soul. The best place to start is with daily prayer. It is the cornerstone of the spiritual life. Sometimes people will argue and assert that going to church on Sunday is the cornerstone of the spiritual life. But there are tens of millions of people who go to church every Sunday but do not have a vibrant spiritual life.