The Virgin Mary and My Bra Strap

OK, anyone who knows me knows I am not the world's most religious person. I have struggled a lot with what I believe faith-wise. Basically, I do believe there is a spiritual side of existence. I do think there is a high consciousness to the universe, but I do not think it/he/she can influence the world outside of human consciousness. People have to listen inside themselves and be observant of those and the world around them to really listen to God (for lack of another name). And once you get past love yourself and love your neighbor, I think a lot of organized religion is just human vanity. I do not believe in a God, for instance, who has made any decision about my fertility. This is not God's will. This is just one of the more unfortunate side effects of a pretty ingenious biological system that I give any creator a lot of credit for. However, I do admire people who do live a good life and treat other people well. A lot of them are religious people. They have their own truths, just like I do, and if that truth leads to good in the world, all the better. One of the people I would put in this category is one of the priests at my church. We shall call him Father Y. He is truly a person of faith and goodness. Somehow he only recently found out about our adoption plan, and he has been incredibly supportive and excited for us.
One of the ways he has shown this gets me to the title of this entry. Mt. Athos is an independent monastic community in Greece. One of the relics there is a sash of the Virgin Mary. They place strips of material on the sash, so the holiness can permeate them. Then they go out into the world as blessings. They are often given to women who want to start a family, and these women apparently wear them in their bras for 40 days. Who knows how these things get started. Anyway, Father Y had a couple of these ribbons, and offered one to me. Let me tell you, talking to your priest about your bra strap is an interesting experience. Anyway, I am very touched. It is a gift given in love and hope, and I believe that energy can only help. The power of prayer is the power of the human mind which can defy even logic. Therefore I believe in the power of a gift given in faith, especially in the name of a woman I believe was brave in the face of epic events and loved her son in the face of great danger.
So starting tomorrow, my bra has a friend.