A Calm Starry Night

Every year in mid September all the volunteers of the farm take a four day retreat. It provides a space to refocus and recharge before the crazy time of transition that is the fall at the farm. The ever kind house parents and tias and Franciscan sisters work extra hard for a few days to take care of the kids, so that we can take a time to reflect. This year Jacob organized our retreat. It was beautifully done, and we are all very grateful for his hard work to organize the time.


My favorite night of the retreat was when the power went out for four straight hours right at dinner time. The plan was to have intentional quiet time, and apparently the electric people wanted to share in the moment. We ate with candles and then simply went off to our own little corners at the retreat center to spend time with out thoughts. I found a little stretch of sidewalk and sat down with my journal. Then I looked up.

I looked up to see some of the most beautiful stars I have ever seen. They were glorious. Slowly, my worries about moving back to the states in December, about what the future held, about how I should spend my last few months in Honduras all slipped away for a moment.

I thought about a reflection I read while walking along the camino de Santiago during my semester in Spain in 2009. When asked why he chose to take the month long hike, a priest responded that he simply wished to walk beneath a field of dancing stars. His answer made so much sense to me in this moment. I thought of how I admired the stars after summer time swim meets as a kid, during my trips to Appalachia while at Notre Dame, on the camino de Santiago when I hiked after my semester abroad in 2009, on the farm in Trujillo whenever the power went out, and in La Ceiba whenever the stars actually decide to peak out at night. Amidst geographic relocations, the passing of time, and the changing of jobs, the stars remain ever constant in my life. I do not know exactly where I am headed after I finish at the farm in December, but I do know that the stars will never fail to accompany me on my journey, and this brings my heart great peace.