Out of Balance

“The scales of life seem so radically off balance and I don’t even understand where I should begin.”

I wrote that quote this summer after spending my first day in Honduras on a medical missions trip with Mission Lazarus, the ministry Cross Point supports in San Marcos.

I’ve been on a lot of mission trips in my life and each time I go I get overwhelmed by the disparity between my world and theirs.  I often really don’t know where to begin. Every attempt seems so feeble in the grand scheme.

I waffle between the extreme emotions of an utter meltdown to calloused indifference.

Today I head back to Honduras for a week.  We’ll be delivering Christmas gifts to many of the same children I first met this past July.  I’ll reconnect with Emely who I met on that trip and absolutely fell in love with.

She stole my heart so much that I began sponsoring her meals and education each month.  My gift from her will be seeing that beautiful smile in person once again.

Honestly I don’t know what I was thinking by booking a mission trip in December.  It’s such a crazy month to be away.  I second-guessed myself every day leading up to this trip.  How could I add another thing to my already unbalanced world?

But really how could I not?  To stay home, amidst the hustle and bustle – the parties… the shopping… the decorating… the baking – would actually feel more out of balance this year.

How do you balance the craziness of the Christmas season?  What helps you have a balanced perspective amidst the madness?  It may not be as extreme as leaving the country for five days, but be sure to pause and reflect to find some sacred moments.  I hope to find some this week!