Yup, it was sincere…I asked for patience, forgiveness, strength, and the return to me of a dear friend who had become like my little brother. The friend is the priest I’ve mentioned in my other posts.

I only say a novena as kind of a spiritual “911”. That was the way my mother said them, and they never failed her, OR me…until now.

The weird thing was, the day after I finished the novena, I got my sign. I had asked for a single pink rose as a sign of St. Therese’s intercession for me. I was given, quite unexpectedly, a box of bath products from someone who had NO idea I had said the novena. Each bottle or tube had a picture of a single pink rose with the brand name, “Love Always” written below it.

That was in February, two weeks after my friend stopped talking to me.

It’s not like I was asking to win the lottery. Yes, I forgave him. I love him, but as a friend, not as a lover. I’m married. He knew that.

Oh, well. I’m having trouble trusting God these days, anyway.