I remember the first time I saw her - the traveling image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. She was visiting a family friend's house, stationed in the living room during a party. Since that experience, I can never picture Our Lady of Guadalupe without thinking of our friend who first introduced us, Patty.

When we arrived that day (I believe it was Christmas of 2006), Patty ushered us into the living room as soon as we arrived to show us the image and tell us about how it was an exact replica and had been touched to the actually tilma of St. Juan Diego. Patty always had a way of squishing dozens of people into her extremely tiny house; I used to think that the walls pushed out when she was hosting because we would fit so many more people than we should have.But that day, we found ourselves alone in her living room with just the image. She grabbed our three hands, and laid all of them together on the image, and left the room. Immediately, tears started to flow from my eyes.

There have been very few moments in my life that I knew God was real and with me.

That was one of them.

Later that night, about 25 of us were crammed into the room with the image to pray the Rosary. I was snuggled up next to Patty on the couch, who I simply adored. It was then, in the presence of the tilma, that I decided I wanted Patty to be my Confirmation sponsor.

I still had about two years to go to Confirmation, and over those years, I got to see the image several more times as it traveled to homes throughout my homeschool group. Each time, I would get that same feeling of awe and peace that hardly ever characterized my life.

In 2008, I called Patty to ask her if she'd be my sponsor that fall. She said yes immediately (she'd never had any daughters so she and I were extremely close), and then she asked to speak to my mom. It was then that she revealed to my mom she had just been diagnosed with cancer.

It's been 10 years since my Confirmation and 6 since Patty lost her battle to cancer. I got to spend another 4 years with a living saint before she passed away, and I treasured every minute. As I was reflecting on this story, I believe the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was also present the last time I ever saw Patty alive, and I haven't seen the image since (though my parents did have the traveling image overnight in our home once when I was away at college, so they put Our Lady in my room to "sleep" overnight so her presence would still linger when I came home).

Patty (left) and I at my Confirmation in 2008.

Today, I can't separate the two great women in my mind - Our Lady of Guadalupe, with her loving motherly kindness to all, and the woman who showed me the same.

I think both women are trying to remind me of their presence lately. When Alan asked me to assist with this project for Viva Guadalupe, I had just finished a project with another client about Our Lady of Guadalupe that had me revisiting the story of the tilma and all of its miraculous characteristics. Now, I've been working with Alan on this project for a few weeks, and I'm so excited to reignite my devotion.

One last correlation - I am in the process of moving into our new home, and my closing date was supposed to be around 12/10. From the beginning, I'd hoped it would be 12/12 for Our Lady's feast day and I felt that I had to dedicate this new home to her. It ended up being the 17th, which saddened me, but I quickly moved on in the excitement of buying a new home. We figured out some dates that family could help us move, and last night I sat upright in bed as my husband and I were trying to fall asleep.

We'll be moving on 12/27.

12/27 was the day that Patty died.

My two guardians are looking out for me still.

- Emily Ricci, Founder of Gloriam Marketing, LLC