The Role of Mary

May is a special month. It speaks of spring but showcases the glory of summer in the late afternoon, the blooming of roses and flowers and the love birds chatting throughout the day and night. May is Mary's month, the month of the Holy Rosary and the month for Mother's Day. Mary, Mothers, flowers, they go well together.

It's the little things sometimes that can make all the difference and now in this time we are in, it's even more true and is put to the test. Last May and this May look really different but at the same time, a little similar. Last May felt hard core and super intense. The beauty of spring was intensifying, as well as my heart was burning with all of the annoyances, daily crosses and unknowns that came from my job and the demands it had. It was rough, but it makes me more confident and proud in God's grace that He was there with me through it all, in guiding and providing my needs.

It was the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe from the local church that also got me through, as my prayers became more intensified and personal. It was the tender and comforting ear of my dear sister listening to my complaints and heartache of these sufferings when we me up on warm and sunny Sunday afternoon at a Starbucks. Her gift was also tangible for Teacher Appreciation Week, and on the gift bag she had an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe with her words to Juan Diego, "Am I not here, who am your Mother?" My sister's gift lifted my spirits, and seeing these comforting words inspired me to trust more.

May was a trying month, a testing month but the beauty of the roses and other blooming flowers, radiant sunsets, daily masses and communions, quality time with my sisters, Santiago, going to cafe Roma and sipping cappuccino, designing my own t-shirts with craft paint, and helping my sister and brother-in-law move in to their new home were all ways of God showing His love, protection, and presence.

Remembering these memories helps with this May. This shelter in place and Pandemic has become harder and harder for everyone, and patience has become even more of a forefront virtue. It's about being creative, innovative and seeing everyday as a blessing, a gift. My schedule looks completely different than it did last May, the hardships and the daily grind were different too. The local parish church is the same, the same God, the same image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, but a different cross in my life. A different trust, a shifted hope, but greater confidence that God uses everything to make something great and new. It's up to me to have that patience in God's timing.

The quote for today from my 365 flip book is "You can always trust God's heart even when you can't trust His hand." And the quote from V. Fulton Sheen that I love that was also on that gift bag from my my sister is, "Patience is power. Patience is not an absence of action; rather it is timing it waits in the right time to act, for the right principles and in the right way."

May this may be full of confidence and love for Our Lady as she continues to guide us on this journey. Her beauty, peace, joy, humility, and comfort are real.