For as far back as I can remember my dad has ALWAYS had roses growing in a flower garden in front of his house. There were deep red ones, luscious coral ones, lovely white ones and even the rare and extremely fragrant "blue" ones (which were really purple!). Little girls love picking pretty flowers, right? But we learned early on that these were not ones to be plucked off the vine. They had huge pokey thorns sticking out all up and down their stems that hurt BAD when touched. I learned to just wait. When the flower was perfectly bloomed and ready, my dad would expertly clip the flower, trim the thorns, and bring the flower inside and put it in a vase for us to enjoy. The smell of the flower would fill the house. We always had beautiful flowers on display inside, as long as we waited for dad to clip them in their time and bring them in.
However, I always wondered why such a pretty flower would have such an ugly hurtful thorn as part of it's nature. What was the point? Haven't you wondered? I would enjoy the flower so much more without the pain!
Well, while rose thorns hurt and frustrate gardeners, they do serve a purpose. Their thorns are a natural defense mechanism. They protect the rose. The spiny thorns discourage predetors from eating the sweet-smelling tasty flowers. They keep the plant alive and intact so that it can continue to grow to reach it's full potential, and eventually allow it to produce other roses as well. And, wouldn't you know it, the sweetest smelling roses have the worst, most painful, thorns.
Since the thorns protect the flower and help it reach it's full potential, I bet the rose is thankful for the thorns, even though it can also be painful for those who care for it. They're blessings in disguise.
Earlier this year, I suffered another "ouch" from a thorn in my life, only it didn't come from a flower, but from a person. Like before, though, it caught me unawares, I didn't see it...until it hurt me. For awhile I was angry, angry at the situation that had caused my hurt, angry at the person, and, yes, even a little angry at God for allowing it. Many tears and bandages later, I learned an important lesson: like the thorns on the rose, the thorns in my life help ME reach my full potential too. Those hurtful things drive me closer to God, allowing my faith to bloom, giving birth to seeds of hope.
I made a decision then, a choice, that changed my angry heart into one of peace. I chose to be thankful for the thorns in my life. Once I stepped back and looked at the situation through the eyes of God, I saw that every time I had experienced a "thorn" in my life, it had produced spiritual growth in my soul. It pushed me to thrive, to grow more. God allowed the thorns because they were pain with a purpose. I was, and am, thankful for them. I realized, then, that I was free. By making the deliberate choice to be thankful for anything that would push me closer to my Savior, I had taken the power away from the enemy.
Thorns are never fun, they're not very pretty, and they hurt. But they are pain with a purpose.
What about you? Do you have thorns in your life that are robbing you of your joy, stealing your peace, and hurting you? Trust in the One who created you. He knows where you are. He knows what's best. He knows how to prune you and protect you and push you to reach your full potential, and to produce seeds of hope to others. He knows when you are ready to be plucked away at the perfect time. So be thankful. It's pain with a purpose.
I'm not exagerrating at all when I say that by choosing to be thankful for my thorns, I was freed from their burden. Does it take all the pain away? No. But it makes it infinitely more bearable...and, oddly enough, even joyous! If this thorn is what it takes to grow me closer to blooming more for Christ, I'll keep the thorns. And be thankful for them, and for the One who loves me, and sees the beautiful flower I will become! And when it's time, our Father will expertly clip the rose, trim the hurtful thorns, and bring us into His house. Because He cares for us...
