i’ve never been a super religious person.

i was raised roman catholic by my puerto rican–italian mother, so church, rosaries, and holy water were familiar parts of my childhood. as i got older, life expanded my spiritual vocabulary. my ex-husband was muslim, and through him i learned about islam, devotion, and a different way of relating to god. over the years i’ve explored so many major faiths… not from a place of trying to find the “right” one, but from a genuine respect for how every culture understands creation.

what i’ve learned is simple: no single religion holds all the truth… and yet all of them point back to the same source. different languages, same god. different rituals, same creator. different paths, same light.

because of that, i’ve never felt the need to be “religious” to be connected. i feel god as an energy that moves through people, timing, intuition, and those small nudges that feel like love showing up in disguise.

and lately, i’ve been thinking a lot about how god sends us angels in human form exactly when our lives are falling apart.

the hardest season of my life

my pregnancy was one of the most difficult chapters i’ve ever lived through. it came after a divorce, after rebuilding myself, and in the midst of navigating a new relationship. i was emotionally raw, financially stretched, and physically vulnerable.

hospitalization.

my baby in the nicu.

unemployment.

moving back in with my parents as an adult.

feeling like i was losing pieces of myself faster than i could gather them.

those months were traumatic. there were beautiful moments, yes … but sometimes the pain was so loud that it drowned out the light. even this past year, as my son has grown, i’ve still felt the weight of the struggle. healing hasn’t been linear. gratitude hasn’t always come easily.

but someone helped shift that.

an angel named klarisse

we went to high school together. we were friendly, not inseparable, but connected enough to share mutual friends and memories including my sweet sixteen. then life pulled us in different directions, as it usually does.

after my divorce, when i moved back to new york, she just… appeared again.

not by force.

not for attention.

just with genuine care and presence.

she checked on my mental health.

she made me feel welcomed home.

she supported me when i became pregnant.

she helped plan my baby shower.

she visited me in the hospital.

she reminded me that i wasn’t alone in a season that felt isolating in every way.

and then, not long after my son was born, she moved to puerto rico, something she had always dreamed of. i’m so happy for her, but i miss her. and when i look back, i know with my whole heart:

god sent her to me.

she came back into my life at the exact moment i needed her, fulfilled her purpose with so much grace, and then continued on her journey.

the sacred people who appear right on time

life is full of people like that.

acquaintances, old friends, coworkers, even strangers who show up and fill a space you didn’t even know was empty. people who steady you, soften you, or guide you without asking for anything in return.

you don’t have to be religious to recognize the divinity in that.

you don’t have to follow a doctrine to believe in timing, purpose, and connection.

you don’t have to call it god for it to be god.

there is a greater energy at work in this world.

there is a force that moves people toward one another for reasons beyond what we can see.

there are souls whose missions are bigger than themselves. people who are here to help the collective, to heal, to lift, to love.

and when they cross your path, your life becomes softer. fuller. better than before they arrived.

a reminder

pay attention to the angels disguised as ordinary people.

hold gratitude for the ones who show up with warmth instead of taking more from you.

and when god sends you someone who makes the hardest seasons feel survivable, honor them. remember them. keep them close, even if life pulls you into different chapters.