St. Rebecca Irene, pray for us!

When I was pregnant with Rebecca, Dan's brother and wife sent us a gift for her.  It was a tiny little gold chain with a guardian angel charm.  It was just the sweetest little thing.  Rebecca never got to wear it while she was in the hospital and I breifly thought about burying her with it.  But then I realized that she no longer needed a guardian angel so I kept it.

Occasionally I would wear it but the chain was very short and very dainty. I was always afraid I was going to break it with my adult sized neck. The charm was gold and I didn't have any gold chains to put it on and had never gotten around to buying one.

One day I wore it and put it back with the rest of my jewelery but when I went to wear it again about a month ago, it was gone!  I was heartbroken.

I remembered putting it back but it wasnt there.  I searched and searched and couldn't find it.  I assumed that it must have ended up on my closet floor and gone out with the Goodwill pile.  (My jewelry hangers are in my closet hanging right over the pile of clothes that are headed for Goodwill. I've always got a pile of clothes that are headed to Goodwill.)

So I did what all Catholics do. I asked St. Anthony (patron saint of lost things) to pray that I would find it.  I continued asking for his intercession and I continued searching but to no avail.

Then Dan went to Dubai again and came home with a beautiful 18k gold chain for me that he purchased in the duty free shop.  He said he wanted to get me something from one of his trips.  He occasionally brings something home for the kids but he's never brought anything home for me.

The gold chain was simple and beautiful.  He asked me what I was going to put on it and I just sighed and told him that I would find something. I knew in my heart what I wanted to put on it but I just didn't know where it was. 

Sarah even started asking me what I was going to put on it.  I ramped up my requests to St. Anthony for intercession and then one morning decided that I was going to ask Rebecca to pray about it as well.  And what do you know?  As soon as I asked her to pray for me, I decided to go look where I had looked multiple times before and THERE IT WAS! It was hanging exactly where it was supposed to be hanging!  Why had I not seen it before??

I was elated!  I put the charm on my chain and have been wearing it frequently ever since.

But that's not the end of the story! 

As I was searching for my charm, my blog friend, Madeline lost something as well.  She posted on Instagram that she had lost something very special so I told her that I would pray that she find it.  She later mentioned on her blog that she was still looking for this item.  And then, the same morning that I found the charm, she posted again on Instagram that she was still missing her very special item.

I told her in a comment what had happened with my charm and that I asked my little saint to pray that I would find it and that I did! 

Well, imagine my surprise when a few days later, Madeline posted a picture of the blueberry pie that she had made based on my recommendation and the following words:

I made the blueberry pie that Beth recommended.  The entire time I asked for St. Rebecca Irene's intercession to help me find my wedding band.  (HER WEDDING BAND!!) Not one hour later we found it in the middle of Christopher's room!

Oh how happy this made me!  Y'all - she lost her wedding band, asked for Rebecca to pray that she would find it and then it turned up one hour later right in the middle of her son's room which had been searched multiple times!  Read all about it here.

I know all my non-Catholic friends are probably a little skeptical.  But if you can ask all your friends on earth to pray for you, why can't you ask your friends in heaven?  And since I know without a shadow of a doubt that my little Rebecca is in heaven (she was sinless after all!) she is the perfect person to ask for prayers. She is up there for all eternity worshiping God so (unlike our friends on earth) she's got plenty of time to pray and she is literally right there with Him!

Finding the charm and Madeline finding her ring, made Rebecca feel so close. 

I miss that sweet little baby and honestly not a day goes by that I don't think about her. Knowing she's in heaven is a comfort, but sometimes I  need something concrete to confirm what I believe.  And finding that charm was concrete for me. 

And then on the same day that I found the charm, Dan and I were out watering Rebecca's Dahlia's and a beautiful butterfly was flying around.  I felt like God was confirming yet again that Rebecca's life had unfolded exactly how He had ordained and that His plan for her was continuing to unfold even in her death. And I felt peace. 

Sometimes God sends butterflies to remind us that it's all good!