When I was pregnant with our fifth child, our family developed a special devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe. When we began our dedication we did not even know what she looked like!
During the summer of that year, we learned that a group of Catholics (including my own mother) were working to bring a blessed photographic image of Our Lady of Guadalupe to our little town in Western Upstate NY. It is one of only two such images in the world and we were very excited. When the plans were being made, my mother shared with me a picture of the image. Our Lady was beautiful!
As the preparations went on, my husband and I asked what we could do to help. A friend said jokingly, "Well, Our Lady would like to be in the town's summer parade. Know anything about making a float?" As it happened, my husband knew a lot! He is originally from Los Angeles, California and used to work on floats for the Rose Parade.
In fact, on a recent trip back to California, he had taken some pictures of artwork portraying Our Lady at the San Gabriel Mission. He pulled them out and showed them to me. "Honey," I said, with my mouth hanging open, "Don't you know that this picture you took is a mosaic of Our Lady of Guadalupe?" God's timing is perfect.
My husband then designed and built a beautiful replica (of the frame around the mission image) for the photograph of Our Lady to be placed in. As he worked on it, he reflected upon this opportunity to be like Christ. After all, Jesus was a carpenter, he must have built many things for his mother. He felt blessed to participate in this way and Our Lady looked graceful and holy as she rode in the town's parade.
During this period our family was going through a really difficult time. I had been diagnosed with early cervical cancer cells and needed surgery, my daughter had a bad accident and barely survived and then, my husband lost his job. We were very stressed, but found comfort in prayers and in our special devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe.
While at the parade, we met a woman named Alma. She was originally from Mexico and shared our love for Our Lady of Guadalupe. Alma, would help change our lives.
My husband had lost his job, at a local VA hospital, due to government cutbacks. Although he was licensed in Medicine in New Mexico, he hadn't processed his New York license yet. He couldn't work outside the federal system without this. The difficulties in obtaining his license were complicated by the fact that, although he had practiced medicine in New York State for ten years and had completed two residencies and a fellowship, he had completed his medical education in Mexico, so he was not automatically able to be licensed in New York State.
We began an endless paper chase trying to work with the Mexican Universities and government to get forms out of Mexico. It was constantly frustrating and we had very little money coming in to support our large family. That's when Alma stepped in.
Alma, we realized, was a gift to us from Our Lord and Our Lady. She contacted people on her own time and with her own money. She made countless phone calls and at one point, involved her own family members in Mexico to help us get our paperwork. My husband's license was finally granted and after six long months of unemployment, he was able to find a position and provide for our family. It was one of those rare times in life, when we were blessed to see how God had woven all of these events together to bring us to this point.
Life is good, but always challenging. Now, ten years and two more children later, we struggle with new difficulties and obstacles, but we can always look back and see the grace that the Lord shared with us, through his Blessed Mother. That helps us to always have hope.
