The Thorns in Our Life

Sandra felt as low as the heels of her shoes when she pulled open the
florist shop door, against a November gust of wind. Her life had been as
sweet as a spring breeze and then,
in the fourth month of her second pregnancy, a "minor" automobile accident
stole her joy.

This was Thanksgiving week and the time she should have delivered their
infant son. She grieved over their loss.

Troubles had multiplied.

Her husband's company "threatened" to transfer his job to a new location.
Her sister had called to say that she could not come for her long awaited
holiday visit. What's worse, Sandra's friend suggested that Sandra's grief
was a God-given path to maturity that would allow her to empathize with
others who suffer. "She has no idea what I' m feeling," thought Sandra with
a shudder. Thanksgiving? Thankful for what?" she wondered. "For a careless
driver whose truck was hardly scratched when he rear-ended her? For an
airbag that saved her life, but took her child's?"

"Good afternoon, can I help you?"

Sandra was startled by the approach of the shop clerk. "I . . . I need an
arrangement, -" stammered Sandra.

"For Thanksgiving? I'm convinced that flowers tell stories," she continued.
"Are you looking for something that conveys 'gratitude' this Thanksgiving? -"

"Not exactly!" Sandra blurted out. "In the last five months, everything that
could go wrong has gone wrong."

Sandra regretted her outburst, and was surprised when the clerk said, "I
have the perfect arrangement for you."

Then the bell on the door rang, and the clerk greeted the new customer, "Hi,
Barbara, let me get your order." She excused herself and walked back to a
small workroom, then quickly reappeared, carrying an arrangement of
greenery, bows, and what appeared to be long-stemmed thorny roses. Except
the ends of the rose stems were neatly snipped: there were no flowers.

"Do you want these in a box?" asked the clerk. Sandra watched - was this a
joke? Who would want rose stems with no flowers! She waited for laughter,
but neither woman laughed.

"Yes, please," Barbara replied with an appreciative smile. "You'd think
after three years of getting the special, I wouldn't be so moved by its
significance, but I can feel it right here, all
over again," she said, as she gently tapped her chest.

Sandra stammered, "Ah, that lady just left with . . . uh . . . she left with
no flowers!"

"That's right," said the clerk. "I cut off the flowers. That's the
'Special'. I call it the Thanksgiving Thorns Bouquet. Barbara came into the
shop three years ago, feeling much as you do today," explained the clerk.
"She thought she had very little to be thankful for. She had just lost her
father to cancer; the family business was failing; her son had gotten into
drugs; and she was facing major surgery. That same year I had lost my
husband," continued the clerk. "For the first time in my life, I had to
spend the holidays alone. I had no children, no husband, no family nearby,
and too much debt to allow any travel."

"So what did you do?" asked Sandra.

"I learned to be thankful for thorns," answered the cle rk quietly. "I've
always thanked God for the good things in my life and I never questioned Him
why those good things happened to me, but when the bad stuff hit, I cried
out, 'Why? Why me?! It took time for me to learn that the dark times are
important to our faith! I have always enjoyed the 'flowers' of my life, but
it took the thorns to show me the beauty of God's comfort! You know, the
Bible says that God comforts us when we're afflicted, and from His
consolation we learn to comfort others."

Sandra sucked in her breath, as she thought about what her friend had tried
to tell her. "I guess the truth is I don't want comfort. I've lost a baby
and I'm angry with God."

Just then someone else walked in the shop.

"Hey, Phil!" the clerk greeted the balding, rotund man.

"My wife sent me in to get our usual Thanksgiving arrangement . . . twelve
thorny, long-stemmed stems!" laughed Phil as the clerk handed him a tissue
wrapped arrangement from the refrigerator.

"Those are for your wife?" asked Sandra incredulously. "Do you mind telling
me why she wants a bouquet that looks like that?"

"Four years ago, my wife and I nearly divorced," Phil replied. "After forty
years, we were in a real mess, but with the Lord's grace and guidance, we
trudged through problem after problem, the Lord rescued our marriage. Jenny
here (the clerk) told me she kept a vase of rose stems to remind her of what
she had learned from "thorny" times. That was good enough for me. I took
home some of those stems. My wife and I decided to label each one for a
specific "problem" and give thanks for what that problem taught us."

As Phil paid the clerk, he said to Sandra, "I highly recommend the Special!"

"I don't know if I can be thankful for the thorns in my life" Sandra said to
the clerk. "It's all too fresh."

"Well," the clerk replied carefully, "my experience has shown me that the
thorns make the roses more precious. We treasure God's providential care
more during trouble than at any other time. Remember that it was a crown of
thorns that Jesus wore so we might know His love. Don't resent the thorns."

Tears rolled down Sandra's cheeks. For the first time since the accident,
she loosened he r grip on her resentment.

"I'll take those twelve long-stemmed thorns, please," she managed to choke
out.

"I hoped you would," said the clerk gently. "I'll have them ready in a
minute."

"Thank you. What do I owe you?"

"Nothing. Nothing but a promise to allow God to heal your heart. The first
year's arrangement is always on me."

The clerk smiled and handed a card to Sandra. "I'll attach this card to your
arrangement, but maybe you would like to read it first."

It read:

"My God, I have never thanked You for my thorns. I have thanked You a
thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorns. Teach me the
glory of the cross I bear; teach me the value of my thorns. Show me that I
have climbed closer to You along the path of pain. Show me that, through my
tears, the colors of Your rainbow look much more brilliant."

Praise Him for the roses; thank Him for the thorns.

God Bless you. Be thankful for all that the Lord does for you.

"Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly, and leave the rest
to God."

We often try to fix problems with WD-40 and Duct tape, or  even a band-aid. God did it with
nails.

Thank you dear Jesus, for caring so much what happens to each of us.  We love you.