In Time of Need

By Greg Zambrano

During the month of the rosary in October, my family and I made a quick trip to the Disney Parks in Orlando Florida.
On the second day of the trip, we visited Disney’s MGM Studios’ new section that just opened over the summer. The main attraction: a long rollercoaster ride named “Slinky Dog.”
Everyone was so excited to ride on this new thrill that it didn’t matter that we had to wait in line close to two hours. After an hour or so, my youngest child had to potty. My wife and I looked at each other, and I quickly took her to the bathrooms where she went on her own.

At that exact moment, a thunderstorm poured in causing many to seek shelter and block the bathroom entrance. As I waited, waited, waited and waited for my daughter to come out, I began to worry, since it was taking longer than usual.
Nearby there was a Disney female employee. I showed her a picture of my daughter on my phone and asked her to go in and hurry her up as I waited outside. The employee comes out a few minutes later and tells me that she wasn’t there.

A bit of fear set in due to the possibility that she could have been abducted, but I knew that the likely possibility is that she slipped out the bathroom and wondered off.
Right away, I call my wife on the phone and tell her to run to the bathroom because our daughter is lost.

As a parent, this is a perfect example of suffering. Our Blessed Mother and dear St. Joseph went through a similar situation realizing that Jesus wasn’t in the group of people traveling home from the festival. They eventually find him in the temple. It is also the third of the Seven Sorrows of Mary, a great suffering illustrated by a sword piercing her heart.

It was a difficult moment, and I didn’t want it to become worse. Our daughter needed to be found right away. My thoughts were all about taking action and asking for Mary’s and Jesus’s help.

My wife and older daughter showed up quickly to the bathrooms where I was waiting. Immediately, I took my rosary out of my pocket and gave it to my daughter and told her to start praying. She was sad, but without a second thought the rosary was on the way.

Something was telling me that my youngest was trying to find us, so I decided to run to the Slinky Dog Rollercoaster entrance.
There was my little girl – chatting away among the Disney workers at the ride. She was soaking wet because she had run in the rain right by me, due to the crowd. We continued on our day not letting the sad moment take over our short trip.

In the 15 promises of the Holy Rosary, promise number two states,
“I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the rosary.”
My response is, “Thank you Lord through Mary Our Mother.”