Rosary!--God does work in mysterious ways!!!

About a year and a half ago I remember seeing one of the most colorful rosaries I had ever seen.  It was beautiful.  For some reason I was just drawn to it.   That was until I saw the price of it.  I think it was $85.  Now while it was colorful and beautiful, I couldn't justify it being $85.  It didn't have special stones, they were most likely acrylic beads.  So as soon as I desired them, the price tag took away my wanting them.  Then a week later, out of the blue I saw them again.  They were advertised on a facebook page and strangely was on my feed.  I took it as a sign.  But again $85 was just a bit too pricey for me.   So I scrolled past it, wondering...is it a sign?  What kind of sign?  A debit in my bank account sign?  Maybe just a sign I should say the rosary more.  And strangely enough about a week after that I was visiting a catholic gift shop--and you guessed it, the colorful rosary beads were in the shop for about the same price.  I wanted those rosaries desperately, but again, found it hard to justify paying that price.  I ended up buying rosaries featuring St. Benedict for $15.  I liked the way they looked and probably admired it's price tag more than the colorful rosaries.  Yet, those colorful rosaries were on my mind--all of the time.  I was convinced that those rosary beads would go on sale.  So I became obsessed checking the internet waiting for that moment.  Yet it didn't happen. 

I usually do my best thinking and problem solving in the middle of the night when I can't sleep.  And so one particular night I began thinking about those rosaries.  And this was my solution..."I'm crafty...why couldn't I just make my own colorful rosary?"  A lightbulb went off and it felt like such an obvious answer.  But how do you make a rosary?  I scoured the internet...Pinterest, You-Tube and watched and watched.  When I felt confident, I went to Michaels and bought some beads I thought would make a beautiful rosary.  They weren't the colorful beads I longed for...but rather pink pearls and rose beads.  My first attempt at a rosary was hard.  I used the wrong beading string, and it made it really difficult.  Almost hard enough to give up.  But I didn't.  After about a week I finished my Rosary.  I was impressed with myself.  My daughter Gemma loved the way it looked and asked if she could have it.  I obliged.

I bought some more beads and made another rosary--this time with different beading wire (the right kind) and it was alot easier.  The result was amazing.  I was super impressed with myself.  These beads were purple crystals and I loved it.  I posted a few pictures on my facebook page and received comments on how beautiful they are and how talented I am.  It fueled my energy to make more.   Suddenly I was up late at night almost every night making rosaries or dreaming up color combinations.  But surprisingly did not attempt that initial colorful rosary I had first seen.  After about a month and posting all the different color rosaries I made...friends started asking to purchase them.  So then I started to think that maybe God created that desire for the colorful rosary for me to share this talent and make the rosary for others.  Requests started coming in...can you make a green one?  a yellow one? can you make a football one?  A Yankees one?  A princess one?  I wondered if it was a sacrilege to make these "not the usual" rosaries...and spoke to a nun friend of mine.  She said, "if you're getting people to say the rosary, it's what God wants!"  Then I got a phone call from a friend asking if I make rosary bracelets.  So I started expanding.  Then a friend asked if I would make a special occasion swarovski crystal rosary with the birthstone of her mom's sisters for a very special Christmas gift.  I loved the way it turned out so much...I wanted to keep it. 

A few weeks ago I was in a tiny shop out of state and I happened to notice really colorful beads...very similar to the ones that created my first calling.  I bought the beads and created my very own "colorful rosary".  It's amazing how it comes full circle.  God does work in mysterious ways!!!