Finca Novena Part 6 of 10- A Heart Poor in Spirit

This is the fifth of my reflections on the different lines of the finca prayer, a prayer we pray daily here at the farm. To see the idea behind this series of reflections please see this previous blog (http://mkatthefinca.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-finca-prayer-novena-part-1-of-10.html).

"a heart poor in spirit detached from the things of this world"

As I write this on October 27, I am officially nine days away from the arrival of Sara and David in La Ceiba (our replacements).  I am starting to mentally organize things for when I pack Sunday and start to live out of a suitcase for a bit.  I am starting to figure out what to leave, to whom, and what to keep.

I thought this would be hard looking ahead, packing to leave Honduras.  Packing is cake.  Packing is a physical motion and movement of stuff.

This week in the finca novena we are asked to reflect on being a person "poor in spirit, detached from the things of this world".  It is the spirits that form the finca family that are heartbreaking to leave.  It is the people in the farm family and their amazing spirits that I have become truly attached to.

I remain a big fan of my running sneakers, prescription sunglasses, and the occasional delicious iced coffee; so I am in no way claiming to be "detached to the things of this world".  I am saying rather that the children, house parents, volunteers, Franciscan sisters, and all who support and participate in the farm in whatever form have inspired me to see beyond the physical.  To see that while we face a physical reality daily, and will continue to face this the rest of our days, that if you take the time everyday to focus more on the spiritual, one's heart reaches a new level of peace.

These spirits have taught me so much, and have transformed my heart.  The thought of not seeing their incredible faces every day is what breaks my heart as our departure date from the farm looms closer and closer.

The finca prayer is not prayed to remind us of why our hearts ache, it is written to nourish and inspire us in our daily lives; and so it does.  For in the same way the amazing finca family has inspired me beyond comprehension, it has also taught me that while my physical reality is about to change, the spiritual connection remains.  The relationships formed remain.

I will continue to sincerely pray the finca prayer well beyond my time in Honduras, and the most beautiful thing is that my beloved finca family continues to pray this beautiful prayer as well.  It is precisely there, in the finca prayer, that our spirits will remain in communion with one another.