When You Meet the Daughter of a Saint...{St Gianna: A Saint for Everyday Life}

One of the thing about heading to Philly I really excited about was attending a talk with Dr. Gianna Emanuel Molla. She is the youngest daughter of St. Gianna Beretta Molla - the saint who gave her life in order that her daughter (named after her) could live, when she was given the choice between dying herself from a tumor or having an abortion. 
Dr. Molla was in Philadelphia for the World Meeting of Families, and is very good personal friends of the owner of the travel agency we went with, so they made this available to our group.

Gianna looks exactly like her mother, it almost felt like I was meeting St. Gianna personally at the church we were at. In her wonderfully thick Italian accent high-pitched voice, she gave a beautiful testimony to the life of her mother and the holy, beautiful marriage between her parents (who would have been married 60 years if they were still both living today).  Throughout her talk, it was so cute to listen to the daughter of this saint refer to her mama as "my saint Mom". Seriously. How often do you hear something like that??
While I have read and own several books on the life of St. Gianna, I was struck throughout the talk how St. Gianna truly is a saint for everyday life. The life of this adventurous, fun-loving, doctor, wife, and mother is a reminder that holiness is available to everyone; that it is a truly simply, accessible path and will look different for each one of us...we're just the ones that over-complicate it. For St. Gianna "the secret to happiness is to live moment by moment." Her daughter said several times, "For mama, everything was God's gift."
What I love about the many saints of the church, is that there are SO many of them with different lives, experiences, and personalities. They are all so unique and their lives remind me that there are many ways to find God and live a life of faith. And St. Gianna is no different, and her life bears witness to what mattered most in her life: loving God,serving her patients with kindness, loving and nurturing her husband and small children, and serving the poor.
St. Gianna is the patron saint of difficult pregnancies and mothers. While I do not have children of my own, there is something so beautifully attractive in her life that reminds me I can encounter God wherever He has placed me in my life. Right where God has me in life right now, is where He wants to use me. For a recovering control freak/perfectionist like myself that is very good news...
Do you have any particular devotion to certain saints? What about his or her life speaks to you as a Christian in 2015?


P.S. As we were leaving the talk, my sister Annie who works or our diocese was able to get a picture with Dr. Molla. Sometimes it pays off to leave the church building last. #toocool St. Gianna, pray for me!