A Joseph for my Mary!

“Such is the will of God that we should have everything through Mary.” Saint Alphonsus Ligouri

One spectacular day as I was making my way through a neighboring city, running errands; God did something unusual. I was in the midst of doing ordinary tasks like shopping for household items, getting my car filled up at the gas station, and picking up our brand-new Mary statue.

This unique statue would be for our outdoor patio garden. Mary would be perfectly surrounded by dune grass, solar lights and gorgeous flowering Hibiscus plants! I decided to purchase the garden Mary statue at a local retail store. I found a good price online and was impressed that this store would even carry religious items at all.  As I was waiting for a staff member to bring the Marian garden statue to my vehicle; God did something unusual. He sent a Joseph for my Mary!  That’s right, Joseph brought Mary to my car.

I will never forget this kind, young man’s enthusiasm as he brought me Mama Mary. He was so excited to learn that they carried religious items like this delightful statue.  He seemed truly amazed, and there was just something about his look of admiration for Mary that I will never forget.

 I found out his name was Joseph, which brought a beaming smile to my face! I shared with him that Wednesdays are normally devoted to Saint Joseph for those of us who are Catholic. He seemed happy to hear that, and proudly shared that his father named him and all of his siblings after biblical figures. It didn’t matter to me that God didn't send a Catholic Joseph for my Mary; it was that God did something unusual. He divinely arranged that Joseph and I would take a moment in our hectic day to talk about what was most important to us, our faith in God. It didn’t matter that it was in the parking lot of a well-known retail store, the Lord was present among us!    

I left that encounter with the kind Joseph, energized to take my Mary home to our outdoor garden space where she would adorn the dune grass, solar lights, and Hibiscus plants! She currently stands tall and beautiful in our garden in all the four glorious seasons; a holy place where our family, friends and neighbors can wonder and contemplate the beauty of the role of Mary. One that always brings us closer to Jesus!