Sacrifice

I worked in the nursery yesterday, and I felt a bit bummed because I couldn't attend the Father's Day service with my hubby. It was me (and another lady) with 7 babies! We had a mostly calm time, with the exception of the brief moment when 5 babies were fussing, ironically not my crier nor the one sleeping -- but it's not exactly easy work with that many children!

In order to make life truly grand, there have to be sacrifices. If I were to join my hubby in the service, someone else would have sacrificed their time and probably sanity to watch my little one. If I want to ensure my home is welcoming, I have to sacrifice time and energy to clean and properly maintain it. If freedom is truly important to me, someone sacrifices their efforts and possibly their life to protect it.

The word "sacrifice" has more of a negative connotation to it. I'd venture to say that most of us are selfish enough that sacrifice is difficult; I know I really struggle with it. I'd like to go after my interests instead of giving up something. It's a delicate balance between sacrificing to the point of losing oneself and being completely selfish. But I'm trying to embrace this idea of balanced sacrifices...