Two mornings later, when our conversation about St. Therese had long been forgotten by me in the hustle and bustle of busy family life, I was alarmed by the insistent yelling of my son.
“Mom? Mom!!!” It was coming from the kitchen. I practically flew downstairs, recognizing the tone in his voice that said, “This is really important!”
“Mom!” he said, triumphantly when I arrived out of breath. “My prayer has been answered! I got my flower! I got my flower! Mrs. Reed is in heaven!”
Dumbfounded, I followed the direction of his pointed finger. There, on the kitchen table, in a vase, stood a single yellow rose.
My mouth hung open – then, it all became clear to me. Our weekly Scripture group had gathered here the night before. As usual, Mr. Reed had brought a flower with him to represent the presence of his wife. He often brought a yellow rose – her favorite – and this particular one was cut from a rose bush we had planted in his wife’s honor. In cleaning up after our meeting, I realized that Mr. Reed had accidentally left his flower behind. I was going to run it across the street last night, but I decided it was too late and I could do it in the morning. I placed the flower on the kitchen table and went to bed, never giving it another thought.
For Michael, none of this was important. The only thing that mattered was this simple yellow rose, specially delivered to him by a heavenly messenger who cared.
“Yes,” I answered, choking back my emotion. “St. Therese certainly has answered your prayer. Not only did she send you a flower, she sent you one from Mrs. Reed’s rose bush! What better sign could you get that Mrs. Reed is in heaven?”
As we hugged, I felt the familiar rush of warm energy as I soaked in the wonder of divine intervention. But the real miracle for me was seeing my son so easily accept it all. I know his life will be greatly enriched by believing confidently in the intercession of saints. And his class presentation on St. Therese won’t be so bad, either.
Elizabeth Ficocelli is a Catholic author of fifteen books for adults and young people, a national speaker, and host of the radio program, “Answering the Call.” For more information, please visit www.elizabethficocelli.com
Published in Catholic Parent, January/February 2000
