Life is a Rosary in God’s Hands

By Sr. Susan

Our life can be thought of as a rosary, with each major event and phase of our life a bead in that rosary. The thread that connects the beads and brings them together to form a beautiful rosary is God’s love and providence. The spaces between the beads of the rosary are the periods of uncertainty we face as we move from one phase or defining moment of our life to the next, when all we need to do is to trust and know that God is in charge and that, therefore, everything will turn out for the best.

Times of uncertainty are occasions to remember that God is in charge

Without a thread that brings them together, the individual beads of a rosary are disjointed and serve no useful function. But when a thread strings them together, they form something beautiful. In the same way, if we leave God out of the picture, the events of our life can seem random, unrelated, and even chaotic, meaningless and absurd. But when we discern the ‘thread’ that underlies and knits these events together, we discover that they have been all part of a beautiful narrative. We can then recognise our lives as meaningful and significant. Even what we might have once thought of as breakdowns we come to recognise as breakthroughs. The challenges we have faced so far now come to be seen as a necessary part of our life’s journey. Just as a seed must burst out of its skin in order to emerge as a plant, when we come to discern the hand of God connecting the various significant events and phases of our life, we recognise that the challenges that we have faced were actually indispensable occasions for our growth.

I like to see the rosary of life as a constellation of three mysteries—joyful, sorrowful and glorious mysteries—mysteries that are reflected in the life of Jesus.

Breakdowns can become breakthroughs, victims can become victors

If we reflect deeply, we will discover a connection between major events in our life. These events are not random or unrelated. Rather, there is an underlying link between them, like a thread stringing together the many beads of a rosary. This link is the Lord’s providential presence. The various stages of our life are all beads of a single rosary in God’s hands. Recognising the thread that brought together these beads enables us to better appreciate their significance. We can be in a position to recognise how valuable each of them has been for the way our life has so far unfolded, according to God’s plan for us.

Thinking of our life as a rosary in God’s hands can lead us to think of life’s journey so far in a new and very refreshing way. Each bead of this rosary is a turning-point or major event in our life. The thread connecting these beads is God’s presence, love, care and providence. Seeing things in this way, we can now recognise that the significant events of one’s life have all worked together for a definite purpose, brought together by the hand of God, in the same way as a thread strings together the beads of a rosary. Just as only with a thread that joins them do a bunch of beads become a rosary, so too only when we discern the hand of God guiding us through the various events and phases in our life do they come together to form a meaningful and coherent picture.

We often ignore the thread in the rosary while counting the beads, but it is there all along, keeping the beads together. In the same way, God is always there with us, guiding us along, through every event in our life, even if and when we forget Him. A simile in this regard is that of grammar, which brings together words to form a coherent sentence. Grammar is invisible, but at the same time, it is essential for the words to make sense when put together. Without proper grammar, words become a meaningless jumble. In the same way, recognising the presence of the invisible God through all the phases of our life provides meaning and purpose to what would otherwise seem totally disjointed and random events.

Thinking of our life as a rosary in the hands of God, with God as the underlying thread of the rosary, one can recognise God’s loving presence and guidance at all stages of our life, even in what we may regard as times of great trial and torment. From the vantage point of age, one can now realise that God has been guiding, blessing and protecting us all along. One can now recognise that as the years have passed, in times of both joy and sorrow, crisis and celebration, the hand of God has been on our head, protecting and guiding us. He has touched us through different people and has also worked through us to touch the lives of others.

God has been present in every moment of our life, one can now understand. Through every experience one encounters and every person one has met, the Lord has been leading us on, enabling us to learn precious lessons and grow as a person. Even in what we then thought of as unbearable times, the Lord sent help, and just at the right time, including through various circumstances and people. He has never let us down, and never will. As we survey our life in this manner, one can recognise that He has always been with us, that He wants the best for us and that He truly loves us.

We can learn something from every experience and every person we meet

“Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands...” (Isaiah 49:16), the Lord says. It was God’s will that we should be born in a particular country and in a certain family and face certain conditions. Viewing life in this way, one comes to see breakdowns as breakthroughs and what one once regarded as accidents to be valuable and incidents. Thinking of our life as a rosary in the hands of God can make it possible for us to come to terms with fears and traumas. One can now appreciate how the challenges one faced are also a precious bead in the rosary of our life. One can now appreciate that the pain one underwent, the torment of feeling neglected and rejected, was not in vain or bereft of meaning and purpose. One can understand that they, too, had a place in God’s beautiful plan for us.

We are little pebbles in this gigantic cosmos

Undergoing various trials and having to face many obstacles can help us to depend on God for our needs and to have greater trust in His providence. All of this can enable us better understand what life is all about: Today we are here, tomorrow we are gone: do as much as good as you can to others and rely for support on the Lord.

Looking back at our eventful life, we can confidently say that no matter what happens in and to us, God will always stay with us through our life’s journey.

Each of us is like a pebble that the Lord has dropped into the river of life. A little pebble sends many ripples around it that grow larger as they spread out. In the same way, each of us, little pebbles in this gigantic cosmos, can spread out beyond ourselves, touching many other lives, inspired by trust in our Maker. I hope that the Lord, the Unbreakable Thread that binds together the beads of the rosary of my life, will bless me so that ripples of love and peace will spread out in and through me till the end of my life and beyond.

I’d like to end this article by some wise lines:

"Life is an echo. What you send out, comes back. What you sow, you reap. What you give you get. What you see in others exists in you. Remember, Life is an echo. It always gets back to you."

(The author is a Catholic nun)