“I’m really disappointed. But for some reason, I still trust him.”

Those were the words I typed to Faith on the morning of March 19th after she wished me a happy solemnity of St. Joseph, acknowledging at the same time that the occasion was marked with some sadness and lots of discouragement. It was not even 24 hours prior that I had received the news that my offer on THE house was rejected by the seller. In the days leading up to this one, I had prayed with a remarkable certainty that God he did, in fact, want to see me settled in my own little safe and secure home, and that He was leading me there. As the head of the Holy Family, I prayed with confidence that St. Joseph would help oversee the process and guide me safely into a home – and soon. This was my 7th or 8th (I lost track) offer on a home over the course of several years. I was sure this was the one. But as it turned out – it wasn’t.

I was aware that St. Joseph knew a thing or two about walking a long road. I had traveled the same road from Nazareth to Jerusalem, but in my car, I was spared from the dry air and hot sun. I prayed that he would keep walking with me, just as he walked – and led – his Mary.

While the disappointment did not mar my confidence in St. Joseph “for some reason,” it did make me question that I was on the right track with what I was seeking for my life. On the day my offer was rejected, I was sure this “no” was more than “not now.” I was ready to stop looking altogether. But I received good counsel that, while disappointing and frustrating, this “no” did not warrant putting the idea to rest. I resumed the search with an overemphasized and reluctant daughter’s sigh, saying, “fine…. I’ll keep looking…”

I wondered if God was asking me to make bigger compromises. So instead of sacrificing a garage or dining room, I began to sacrifice location. My search the next day included homes that were much further away from the area where I hoped to settle. Being close to those who are dearest to me was a non-negotiable that I suddenly began negotiating.

That same day, I wandered into the living room and noticed my egg chair sitting in the corner with it’s crisp and fluffy cushions. “Why do I have this chair, anyway? It’s too big for this space. And it’s not comfortable.” In my frustration (which was about much more than a chair!) I took a picture of it and listed it on Facebook Marketplace.

What came next was a total surprise: within 20 minutes, I had 40 women wanting to buy the chair. I messaged them all and declared a “first come, first serve” arrangement. My buyer arrived within 40 minutes. She opened her car doors and together, we began loading the cushions of the chair into her car.

She had a four-week old baby in the car and had just come from the doctor’s office. She seemed a bit flustered. So, I began to strike up conversation about the chair. She got excited, “It’s for my new house!” she said. “My husband and I bought a new home and are going to move there eventually. I’m on maternity leave and can’t help buy a few things while we prepare to move!” I congratulated her on the new baby and the new home, acknowledging that it’s a tough time to buy a house. “I’m so glad you found something!” I said, “I’ve been searching for years, with no luck. It’s a buyer’s market!”

Suddenly, the woman became very silent. She looked directly at me and asked, “What are you looking for?” I shrugged off her interest and said, “Oh, something small.” She insisted, “Like two bedrooms, one bath, a sunroom, finished basement, and a patio?”

I stared. This stranger just described a dream house. “That sounds amazing!” I said.

We looked at each other for a good long moment, standing in the middle of my neighborhood street, the baby cooing from his carseat nearby. The woman explained to me that they had no timeline and, because of the birth of their baby, had to put the sale of their current home on hold.

Friends, I suspect you can see the rest of the story starting to unfold. What happened next launched me into a new chapter of my life with unusual speed and succession of miracles. Within ten minutes of meeting this stranger on Facebook Marketplace, I had an appointment to see her home at the end of the week. There was just one problem: I didn’t know where the home was! I sent a text and what I received in reply explained every single step of the long journey I had taken to find a home of my own. The answer explained every “no:”

The address of the home was within walking distance – and literal eyesight – of the homes of nearly every single person I “do life” with on a weekly and sometimes daily basis. It was smack dab in the middle of my friends, my newest godson, and so many others. It was all too good to be true.

Two months later and it’s still too good to be true. I have a little cottage home of my own that is in excellent condition after a listing was created just for me by the seller. When the realtor told me that at the time, she said in disbelief: “The sellers said they really want you to have it.”

Why they wanted me remains a mystery to me. But I know that this was part of the plan all along. Remember when I listed the chair on Facebook Marketplace? Well, that day was March 19th – the feast of St. Joseph, just hours after responding to Faith’s text with, “…for some reason, I still trust him.”

But wait! It gets better!

When I finally saw the house for the first time in March, I stood on the front doorstep and looked down the street. There, I could see the top of a little grotto dedicated to St. Joseph in the neighborhood that I had adopted in 2020 during the pandemic, planting roses around it and tending to it for months on end along with the Carmelite sisters who lived nearby. The St. Joseph’s Grotto is my neighbor. All I have to to do is look outside my front door and I am reminded of both his journey – and his home.

This story is about so much more than me and my little cottage from St. Joseph. It’s an affirmation to anyone waiting or walking a long road that God is walking that road with us. It’s an invitation to invite St. Joseph on the journey with us. It’s a real-life example of how God is working beyond the “no’s” and breathing into the silence. He wants abundance for us, and He will keep wanting it, providing for it – even when we doubt and grow discouraged.

My little cottage is already overflowing with memories of backyard dinners, baking parties, game nights, toddler exploration, and quiet times for conversation, tears, and rest. My people make themselves at home in this place with me, coming and going as friends and loved ones do. Students know where to come for a home-cooked meal, friends who work nearby already know where to stop to share lunch or go for a walk, and Aunt Mary days of summer with my favorite little people are already in full swing. There is life in abundance, just as He promised. And I know He promises the same for you, too.

Where there is silence…
Where there is “no”…
Where there is discouragement…
Where there is a long, weary road…
Where there there is famine – He is there.

“He made him lord over his household, ruler over all his possessions.”

A few years ago, I had the great joy of visiting Ein Karem in Jerusalem – the place where Mary and her cousin Elizabeth met, and the words of the Magnificat were spoken for the first time. It was on my list of top 3 things I HAD to do while in Israel next to venerating the place where Jesus died on Calvary and jumping into the Sea of Galilee. After spending several days in the desert and walking countless miles throughout the city of Jerusalem, I was pleasantly surprised and relieved when we got in our car and began driving to a more remote part of the city toward Ein Karem- with beautiful green foliage and flowers lining the streets.

My relief was short lived. We parked the car and began walking up to the Church of the Visitation. Yes, it was up. There was a reason why I didn’t walk up Mount Tabor earlier that week, and why every mile in Jerusalem had been counted. Two days after our arrival in Israel, while jumping and swimming in the Sea of Galilee, I broke part of my foot on the slippery wet fishing boat near the city of Tiberius. Somehow (and with the help of splints and bandages), in spite of my injury, I had managed to keep walking… up Calvary, up to Gethsemane, and now, up to the Church of the Visitation.

As I walked up to Ein Karem, I thought about what this looked like to Mary when she approached the home of her cousin. I imagined her joy, knowing she was so close to seeing her friend – and knowing that the journey was almost at an end. She must have been SO tired and worn out from her travels! My friends and I drove the distance Mary took from Nazareth to Jerusalem just a few days before, and it wasn’t an easy one. The desert sun was brutal. The distance was considerable. It occurred to me that Elizabeth wasn’t the only one who needed companionship in that meeting; Mary too, must have needed a friend in her tiredness and in the remaining days of her own pregnancy.

There’s so much to say about that place and the gift that Mary and Elizabeth in their Visitation are to us! But today, I’m going to stop and ponder the summit of that hill at Ein Karem…

I eventually reached the top with my broken foot, thanks to the help of friends. Mary too reached the top, and when she did, she proclaimed the greatness of the Lord. One could say that this was a “mountaintop” moment for Mary and the glory of her unborn son.

So often, the mountaintop (or, Ein Karem) moments in life are proceeded by a long journey – be it physical, emotional, or spiritual. And Mary shows us that these moments are meant to be shared with another… and that we need each other to get there.

Last week, I lived an Ein Karem moment of my own. My friends and I decided to meet one last time for our weekly Bible Study on the Gospel of St. John before pausing for the summer months. As we settled into our weekly evening routine, we took some time to first check in on each other and catch up. What I witnessed – and received – in those moments became a mountaintop “Ein Karem” moment.

Within the span of 30 minutes, I watched, listened, and shared in deep friendship between women. Some came to the group with tears and hearts full of mourning over recent losses. Others came with joys of new life, new homes, and new opportunities. Some spoke of great challenges and seemingly impossible situations of discouragement and doubt. Others spoke of freedom, joy, and rejoicing.

It was only afterward that I realized this was a Five-Way Visitation. We proclaimed the greatness of the Lord, we extended our arms in support for one another, and we called out the presence of God in our midst. There was room for everyone and everything. Our hearts were open and full. We cried tears of joy and tears of sorrow. Some of us had entered after climbing a mountain with a proverbial broken foot. Others were already at the top, extending open arms of welcome to the wearier hearts. Every time we are together, we take turns in the two postures of proclaiming and welcoming.

My friends are my Ein Karem. They are the place where I come to see another, to be welcomed, and ultimately, to proclaim His greatness and His presence among us. We all need an Ein Karem, dear reader! As you ponder these words and the prayer of the Magnificat below, I invite you to ask yourself to identify a “Visitation” or “Ein Karem” Moment from the past month. Who came to you with open arms? Who proclaimed the greatness of the Lord in your presence? Who showed you that Christ was present in your labor and pain?

We cannot live this life alone. It is easy to let insecurity and fear crowd your heart in female friendships. Mary and Elizabeth show us how to let go of those things that bind us to ourselves and invite us to bear witness to the life inside the womb – the life of Christ. If you have not yet experienced what it’s like to be received or to be seen, know that you already are in the heart of Mary. Let’s be like her and run (or walk!) toward that which we love, proclaiming Him in our life and pointing Him out in the lives of others.

---

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him 
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever.
Amen.