We are all born on this earth for a reason

Vivian Gonzales Marino
NOLA Catholic Parenting

There is a beautiful quote by St. John Paul II that states: “In the designs of providence, there are no mere coincidences.”

I can certainly attest to this.

Once upon a time, I needed to hire a grass company. Many companies were suggested, but one caught my attention, Pfefferle Lawns. The reason was that I would see the owner’s parents walk daily around my neighborhood for years, always holding hands.

I knew nothing about this couple other than the fact that they exuded a great love for one another, and I assumed that it spilled over into their family. For that reason, I hired Keith Pfefferle, thinking that what I had observed of his parents would translate into a great work ethic, and it absolutely did.

Over the years, my husband and I got to know Keith. He is a friendly and hardworking New Orleanian. In May 2022, I got a call from my cousin telling me that his sister was extremely ill, and the prognosis did not look good. I immediately called him to find out more information.

(Photo courtesy The Pfefferle Family - holding a picture of their beloved Suzanne Pfefferle Tafur.)

First, I did not know he had a sister, and furthermore, she was his only sister and the baby of the family. Her name was Suzanne Pfefferle Tafur, and she had been battling squamous cell carcinoma. She was the wife of Dr. Jose Tafur and a mother to two small boys, Santiago (Santi) and Julian (Juli).

From that moment, I started my mission to pray for her complete healing. I stormed heaven day and night with prayers. Her brother was a good man; he loved his sister, and I needed to help.

During this time, I was given the opportunity to write for NOLA Catholic Parenting and the Clarion Herald. I was not a trained writer, but I loved to write, especially about the Catholic faith. So, once I started to pray and learn more about Suzanne, it certainly was not a coincidence to find out that she was an accomplished writer; she was the real deal.

Suzanne was called to her heavenly home on July 9, 2022. My prayers for Suzanne did not end that day. You see, Suzanne’s prayer card sits on my kitchen window sill, and I see it every day. With that in mind, I started praying to her daily, asking her for guidance in this new writing journey, and she has surely provided it.

I recently met with her mom to get to know a little bit about Suzanne. She described her daughter as a gentle, kind and courageous young lady. She might have been tiny – she was only 4-foot-11 – but she exuded a zeal for life.

From the time Suzanne was young, she knew she wanted to be a travel writer, and she visited many exciting places along the way, including India, Vietnam, South Korea, Egypt, Cuba, Puerto Rico and France. She wrote for various publications, authored and published a book, and even produced two documentaries.

Aside from that, she loved her Catholic faith – noting that her time at St. Dominic School really made an impact on her religious life. She had a huge devotion to the Blessed Mother, always sleeping with a rosary under her pillow, and even having her wedding dress feature a big blue sash around her waist in honor of Mother Mary.

Suzanne squeezed every ounce of life out until her last breath, even traveling to Spain just six weeks prior to her passing. She also had the stamina to write her parents and her husband a note, thanking them for all they had done for her just before she passed.

The design of God’s providence was revealed when her mother told me that she had always hoped Suzanne would write for the Clarion Herald, but instead, God chose me to write for her.

There are no mere coincidences in life; instead, there are moments when heaven and earth meet for a moment in time with Jesus right in the middle. I never got the chance to meet Suzanne on this side of heaven, but I can tell you that I love her.

Vivian Marino is a wife and mother to four children living in the New Orleans Lakefront area. She graduated from St. Mary’s Dominican High School, Louisiana State University with a bachelor’s degree in science and earned her master’s in exercise physiology at the University of New Orleans. She has done research at Tulane School of Public Health and worked as a personal trainer. These days, she's busy raising her children – two boys and two girls. Her favorite things include spending time with her family, weekend dinners with her husband, hiking whenever she gets the chance and praying the daily rosary with her favorite online community, “Many Hail Marys at a Time.”