My latest over at Patheos... something for the month of the Holy Rosary

My latest column over at Patheos discusses my discovery of the rosary and, ultimately, a relationship with Mary...

Here's a snippet:

I came to the Rosary, and really, to Mary, during the white-knuckled medical stresses of my first pregnancy. Prior to that, I always went to Jesus in prayer for help. My small mind reminded me that Jesus never had a baby. What I needed was some “girl talk”; I longed for a strong feminine connection.
 I’m only guessing, but I think Jesus used that opportunity to introduce me to his mother. A woman who was a little older than me, and about 10 years into parenting, befriended me, and spoke to my angst about motherhood. A mother of three, she gently encouraged me to look to Mary for help and example. I was so low and so sick from perpetual “morning” sickness that I couldn’t muster a reason to argue.
 I daily opened Nana’s pretty metal box and desperately prayed those Rosary prayers. They were a lifeline thrown to me in a drowning sea.

Read the rest here.