One of the most wonderful perks of writing here in this space is that people share their own stories with me. Because I write about faith, the door is open for people to tell me about their faith journeys, too. I hear the most beautiful stories, and they often come to me in unexpected moments.
I love hearing about how God is at work in people’s lives through subtle signs, messages of love, and through encounters with others—including saints.
The story I want to share with you today features one of my favorite saints, St. Therese of Lisieux who was born 150 years ago this year. This story comes from Shaela Blanchard, who lives in Colorado. Shaela is a stay-at-home mother of three little ones—11, 3, and 8 months. She is also a business owner, running two hair salons in the South Denver area.
Shaela is extremely busy. She is nursing her baby, Joel, handling all her children’s activities and appointments, and overseeing scheduling and payroll—and even some plumbing issues—for her businesses and her more than 20 employees. Just from our back and forth, I could tell that Shaela loves being busy, but she was also feeling stretched thin like most mothers.
Shaela told me that she was asking herself, “How can I give my family 100 percent and my business 100 percent?” She decided to try the St. Therese novena as she prayed for clarity, peace, and understanding.
“I needed more employees to sustain the busy season and help support my clients, and I prayed for better business and prosperity,” Shaela said. “On my ninth day, I received several calls and messages from stylists leaving a competitor blow dry bar, and they all wanted to come work for me.”
If you’ve prayed a novena to St. Therese, or if you’re familiar with her story, you might know that people believe they will receive a rose as a sign of their prayers having been heard. I’ve experienced this myself.
In Shaela’s case, it was just a few days later that she received a message from a licensed cosmetologist named “Jenna Rose” on Facebook, who wanted to work every Saturday during October.
“This was my rose! So I thought,” said Shaela, who is a parishioner at All Souls Catholic Parish in Englewood. “After receiving her message, randomly I needed to break change at my Blo Bar for the receptionist. I ran in quickly as I had my baby asleep and with me and boom!”
Shaela found tiny pink roses in a glass on the front desk. She asked her staff who had brought the roses, but none of them had an answer. She was able to reach the manager who told her that a high-school-aged girl—a complete stranger to Shaela—had brought them.
During the month of November, we remember souls and reflect on the lives of the saints. It’s such a gift to have friends on earth and in heaven to ask to pray for and with us.
And I love that Shaela now has a connection to St. Therese, whose mother, St. Zelie, was a working mother herself, making lace and raising her daughters.
“I will never doubt a saint doing their good work on earth as their heavenly devotion to God,” Shaela said. “I’m so inspired by St Therese now and the goodness of God.”
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