Each morning we walk from our compound to the town of Los Encinos. This walk is always a time of fellowship with my team and the time when they make their customary stops at the corn stands along the road. When we first took the walk to Los Encinos I was so stoked about the idea of getting to see more of the mountains I could see peeking over the compound. The first couple of times felt too fast as I enjoyed the views and the fact that I got to walk instead of being crammed into a chicken bus or van. Soon it started to feel routine. I forgot to look around at the mountains and the fields of corn. I started forgetting how lucky I was that I got to walk with my team and laugh. I started becoming more focused on getting back to my bed and walked faster to get off the road and away from the cars and buses that were flying past me. As I started to reflect on my initial feelings to this walk, I remembered the beauty that I had time to appreciate along the way. I was instantly reminded about the importance of rest and the beauty of slowness.
Personally, I lived a life that was always fast paced and always moving. I wanted to do everything and always say yes and so I spread myself too thin. In my way of life, I become easily overwhelmed and started playing a catch up game to give my best. Because I was giving myself to too many things, my standards of what my best was dropped. It’s not that it wasn’t good, but I know that I was cheating myself of my fullest best. When I set my mind to something I want to give all that I can and, therefore, I was never fully satisfied with what I did. Life became a task that I needed to check off my list. In my time of reflection, I realized I had been treating my life like this walk to our ministry. I was running to my destination to feel the satisfaction and I forgot to look around at the beauty of the journey. Somewhere along the way I forgot that I got my truest fulfillment from enjoying the journey and all that God could teach me along the way and began running myself dry to reach the destination of each task I applied myself to.
So, as I start walking again to ministry I am choosing to look past the road of cars, buses, and motorcycles flying by with nothing but home in my mind. Instead, I am choosing to see the mountains again, my teammates, and remembering how crazy awesome it is that I call this country home and I get to walk on these roads in the mountains of Guatemala.
