It’s been a week now since we returned from Honduras, and I suppose the dust is beginning to settle. Not being able to make better sense of the trip or tell some amazing story of transformation is still bugging me a little. To make the whole “trip interpretation” even trickier is the fact that I’ve been buried in stress since returning.

Perhaps it’s the obvious lessons that come from a week of living a simpler life that need to sink in and stay with me. My life is tangled in knots of over-commitment… mostly due to extra work… mostly due to a need to pay the bills… mostly due to a standard of living that we can’t afford on my salary alone… mostly due to desire for a more comfortable and convenient life.

During our time in Roatan, we joined our host family’s congregation for a Wednesday evening time of worship. The passage of scripture for the evening nudges me to ditch the baggage that weighs me down…

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2)