The Significance of the postcard with St. Theresa’s Prayer
(I can't seem to get the postcard copied and pasted -remember I'm a techno illiterate-but if you would like a copy email me and I can send it to you as an attachment.)
Remember "GOD IS GOOD"
After writing Nelda’s story and mailing it off to various groups/individuals to try and bring awareness to Vonn Hippel-Lindau, Nelda and I continued to brainstorm ideas to raise money to increase funding for VHL research. Nelda suggested business cards that would have an inspirational message and give people someone to contact in order to make donations or have fundraisers. The idea floated in my head, but I could not produce something concrete. I was trying to create from my reservoir of words the right message; however, of my own will…it would not come to me.
Then one morning I went for a long walk, and returning to my house I sat down at my computer and without much thought at all created this postcard. I had read and printed this prayer upon receiving it via email, and it reminded me of lessons Nelda had taught me. I felt compelled to place it on the postcard, and once it was completed I emailed a copy to Eddie, Nelda’s husband, set it aside, and did not think much of it.
Later that day when talking to Nelda on the phone I casually told her that I had done a sample postcard. I told her that I had emailed a copy to Eddie, but she said that Eddie had not checked the email recently. We then moved on to discussing other subjects. The conversation went from light to serious without warning. Nelda told me that lately she had been very down and discouraged and that when she felt this way she would go to her secret place in her mind and it would make her feel better. She said that her secret place was heaven. Nelda went on to describe it to me in beautiful detail. She said, “I see myself walking and then running down a pathway made of silk which leads to a beautiful castle. The castle has gold columns and there are emerald, rubies, and sapphires. There is a big feast and I finally meet my Jesus. I collapse in his arms. There will be beautiful gardens with roses and my father and brother will be there.” In humor she added, “Eddie says there is no such thing as purple roses, but I told him that in my garden there would be PURPLE roses…I didn’t care what he said!” She then continued, “The garden will have purple roses, red roses, yellow flowers, and there will be the color of emerald green, but there will be NO THORNS!”
Next thing I knew Nelda was saying, “Robyn, are you there?” I could not believe my eyes. As Nelda was talking, my eyes were drawn to my desk where a copy of the postcard was lying. The template that I had chosen from literally thousands of choices had the flowers that she described. When I regained my voice I said, “Nelda, what is your favorite color?” Without hesitation she said, “Purple”. In my heart I knew that is what she would say as the postcard was bordered in purple…a color that I never choose for myself. It was then that I described the postcard to Nelda in detail. She sat in silence, and then said, “That is confirmation, we have to do this, we have to follow the Lord’s call.” Already in awe of what had happened thus far, I went to bed with an inner peace, but the next day the Lord’s hand would be even more evident.
The postcard was beside my bed and I read the prayer when I awoke the next morning. Like I said previously, the reason I inserted the prayer was because it spoke to my heart as words from Nelda. Later that day, I checked my emails and I received St. Theresa's prayer again from my sweet Aunt Joyce who is strong in her walk with Christ. However, in this email there was a brief historical background of St. Theresa. To this point, I knew NOTHING about this Saint. But once again, I sat in awe as I read that she was known as “The Little Flower”, and that she loved roses. I hurriedly searched the web for more information on Saint Therese, and as I read I knew in my heart why her prayer had spoken to my heart, and why I had placed St. Theresa's Beautiful Prayer on Nelda’s postcard.
I called Nelda and asked her if she knew anything about St. Theresa’s background, and she said, “NO”. I went on to explain all that had happened, and she also knew that it was the hand of God. I shared the following story with her that I copied and pasted from a website (www.littleflower.org) about St. Therese, and the impact she has had on lives…
The following is an entry from the website entered by someone who had been touched by St. Therese's Life…
“A friend gave me a copy of the St. Therese novena. In truth, I thought it was silly and I tossed it in the trash. Almost a year later I came across the prayer again. This time I read the novena and made a petition. The next day I was sure I would receive, find, or come across my rose sent from St. Therese. But it didn’t take long before “common sense” set in and I doubted the possibility. I thought I would be crazy to believe that I could say a prayer and some divine power would send me roses. It was summer and roses were everywhere, so of course I would come across at least one, it was inevitable. Consequently, I went on with my day forgetting about the prayer, the roses, and St. Therese. Later that afternoon Sister Mary Ellen, a friend of mine, dropped by. I was surprised by her visit and even more so when she told me why she was there. She told me that she wanted to take me somewhere. I asked where and she replied, “I want to take you to a rose garden.” I couldn’t believe my ears. I hadn’t told her about the novena, in fact I hadn’t told anyone. It would have been more logical if we had discussed going to a rose garden before but we hadn’t. Or if it was in her character to be spontaneous but it wasn’t. Curiously I asked her why, why did she want to go to a rose garden on that day of all days and why did she think of taking me? She told me that she was in my neighborhood, it was a nice day and she just simply thought it was a good idea. Of course we went to the rose garden and it was beautiful. I will remember that day for the rest of my life and I will always be thankful to St. Therese for not only sending me flowers but sending a “Sister” to take me to a GARDEN of roses. And yes, my petition was answered. Not immediately but beautifully and naturally. I don’t know if it would have happened without St. Therese, I guess it’s possible. But I like to believe that it was her gentle guidance that led it to happen. After all, isn’t that what faith is? Not to mention, I just can’t reasonably explain the rose garden.”
Nelda and I also found that there was a DVD out on St. Therese and we watched it together. We could not believe the many similarities to Nelda’s beliefs and her struggles. St. Therese wanted everyone to know that God is Good just as Nelda does, and St. Therese continued to praise God for the roses even amongst the many thorns in her life. Nelda experiences thorns every second of every day, but she still proclaims a Good God and implores us all to have Faith in HIS TIME!
P.S. Upon recounting all of this to Elva, Nelda’s dear mother, Elva said, “Nelda our church in Premont is St. Therese “The Little Flower”. That is where Nelda and Eddie were joined in Holy Matrimony!
We pray for the intercession of St. Therese.
St. Theresa's Prayer
May today there be peace within.
May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love
that has been given to you...
May you be content knowing you are a child of God....
Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to
Sing,
dance,
praise ,
and LOVE.
It is there for
each and every one of us.
