Lost But Found

Recently, while my daughter was at cheer practice, I decided to pop into adoration. Instead of rushing home to fill the time with errands or noise, I chose 45 minutes of stillness. It was just enough to quiet my heart and pray a full rosary.
 
 I always carry my favorite rosary with me. I’ve had it since the year 2000; it came free in the mail from “America Needs Fatima.” It’s simple: white pearl beads linked with gold-colored chain and a matching cross. Over the years, the pearls have dulled, and the gold has faded to something more like plain metal. But I love it, not for how it looks, but for what it’s brought me through. It was with this rosary that I first truly learned how to pray.
 
 I keep it close, always in my pocket.
 
 After finishing my prayers, I rushed to pick up my daughter and went home. It was not until later that evening that I noticed it was missing. Not in my pocket. Not in my purse. I had misplaced it. And my heart sank. I was devastated. 

That night I drove to the Adoration Chapel hoping to find my missing rosary. However, the doors were locked, and I drove home with tears in my eyes praying I might see it again. In the morning, I returned. The priest, on his way out, told me no rosary had been turned in, but assured me he understood the pain of losing a favorite rosary. Inside a woman sat in my spot from the day before, and she graciously let me look underneath the cushion, but it was empty. Then, in the corner of the kneeler, I saw it- my rosary!

In that moment, I cried tears of joy and thanked God, along with St. Anthony, for guiding me to it. What I realized in that moment is that it was never merely about the beads, but about the prayer woven through them. The beads are a daily reminder that persistence and prayer is worth every effort!

Finding my rosary was simply God's way of reminding me: when you seek me with all your heart you will find me.

Vivian Gonzalez Marino is a wife and mother of four living in the New Orleans Lakefront area. She graduated from St. Mary’s Dominican High School, LSU with a bachelor’s degree in science, and then earned her master’s in exercise physiology at the University of New Orleans. Her favorite online community is "Many Hail Mary’s at a Time."