Sunday, February 10, 2019

Inspirational Story "Thorns"




Happy Sunday Sweet Friends,


I decided to vary from Scripture
 Sunday today because I found
 something in my draft box that I 
rec'd in an email from someone
 years ago and somehow I never 
posted it,  but it is a really good
 read, so decided today was
 the day.

Hope you hang in and read
it all......as I think it really
gives us something to 
think about.........




THORNS 

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 me? For an airbag that saved my life
but took my 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 s nipped: 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 clerk 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 her 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 all of 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. 

God did it with nails.




Amen!!


Hugs and Blessings,
Nellie


Sharing with:

Oh My Heartsie Girl

Dwellings

The DedicatedHouse





3 comments:

  1. OH! my Nellie what a wonderful message today, I am so happy you shared this and I am so happy I got to visit you. I would like to bookmark this to remind me of God's faithfulness!
    Blessings,
    Sue

    ReplyDelete
  2. HOPE is the greatest of all when we think of the thorns! For one DAY we will all see and be in His Perfection forever where there will be no more thorns, only the pure joy of His Beauty!
    I love you, LORD Jesus! Susan

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a blessing that you shared this story. I am pinning it in my Inspirational board just so I can read it when I need to be reminded of the reason for the thorns in life. Thanks for sharing at #HomeMattersParty

    ReplyDelete

Special thanks to all who take the time to leave comments..........They are very encouraging and very appreciated. I enjoy every one of them so much!!
May the Lord Bless You!!
Nellie

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