These days I was surfing the net looking for a nice story about thanksgiving. I came on this one in another blog and thought I would share it with the rest of you...
Sandra felt as low as the heels of her Birkenstocks as she pushed
against a November gust and the florist shop door. Her life had been easy, like
a spring breeze. Then, in the fourth month of her second pregnancy, a minor automobile
accident stole her ease. During this Thanksgiving week she would have delivered
a son. She grieved over her loss. As if that weren't enough, her husband's
company threatened a transfer. Then her sister, whose holiday visit she
coveted, called saying she could not come. What's worse, Sandra's friend
infuriated her by suggesting her grief was a God-given path to maturity that
would allow her to empathize with others who suffer. "Had she lost a
child? No - she has no idea what I'm feeling," Sandra shuddered.
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 that of her child?
"Good afternoon, can I help you?" The flower shop clerk's
approach startled her. "Sorry," said Jenny, "I just didn't want
you to think I was ignoring you." "I . . . . I need an
arrangement." "For Thanksgiving?" Sandra nodded. "Do you
want beautiful but ordinary, or would you like to challenge the day with a customer
favorite I call the 'Thanksgiving Special'?" Jenny saw Sandra's curiosity
and continued. "I'm convinced that flowers tell stories, that each
arrangement insinuates a particular feeling. Are you looking for something that
conveys gratitude this Thanksgiving?" "Not exactly!" Sandra
blurted. "Sorry, but in the last five months, everything that could go
wrong has."
Sandra regretted her outburst but was surprised when Jenny said,
"I have the perfect arrangement for you." The door's small bell
suddenly rang. "Barbara, hi!" Jenny said. She politely excused
herself from Sandra and walked toward a small workroom. She quickly reappeared
carrying a massive arrangement of green bows, and long-stemmed thorny roses.
Only, the ends of the rose stems were neatly snipped, no flowers. "Want
this in a box?" Jenny asked. Sandra watched for Barbara's response. Was
this a joke? Who would want rose stems and no flowers! She waited for laughter,
for someone to notice the absence of flowers atop the thorny stems, but neither
woman did. "Yes, please. Its exquisite." said Barbara. "You'd
think after three years of getting the special, I'd not be so moved by its
significance, but it's happening again. My family will love this one.
Thanks."
Sandra stared. "Why so normal a conversation about so strange an
arrangement?" she wondered. "Ah," said Sandra, pointing.
"That lady just left with, ah . . . " "Yes?" "Well,
she had no flowers!" "Yep. That's the Special. I call it the
"Thanksgiving Thorns Bouquet." "But, why do people pay for
that?" In spite of herself she chuckled. "Do you really want to
know?" "I couldn't leave this shop without knowing. I'd think about
nothing else!" "That might be good," said Jenny.
"Well," she continued, "Barbara came into the shop
three years ago feeling very much like you feel today. She thought she had very
little to be thankful for. She had lost her father to cancer, the family
business was failing, her son was into drugs, and she faced major
surgery." "Ouch!" said Sandra. "That same year, I lost my
husband. I assumed complete responsibility for the shop and for the first time,
spent the holidays alone. I had no children, no husband, no family nearby, and
too great a debt to allow any travel." "What did you do?"
"I learned to be thankful for thorns." Sandra's eyebrows lifted.
"Thorns?"
"I'm a Christian, Sandra. I've always thanked God for good things
in life and I never thought to ask Him why good things happened to me. But,
when bad stuff hit, did I ever ask! It took time to learn that dark times are
important. I always enjoyed the flowers of life but it took 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 gasped. "A friend read that passage to me and I was furious! I
guess the truth is, I don't want comfort. I've lost a baby and I'm angry with
God." She started to ask Jenny to "go on" when the door's bell
diverted their attention.
"Hey, Phil!" shouted Jenny as a balding, rotund man entered
the shop. She softly touched Sandra's arm and moved to welcome him. He tucked
her under his side for a warm hug. "I'm here for twelve thorny
long-stemmed stems!" Phil laughed, heartily. "I figured as much,"
said Jenny. "I've got them ready." She lifted a tissue-wrapped
arrangement from the refrigerated cabinet. "Beautiful," said Phil.
"My wife will love them." Sandra could not resist asking, "These
are for your wife?" Phil saw that Sandra's curiosity matched his when he
first heard of a Thorn Bouquet. "Do you mind me asking, Why thorns?"
"In fact, I'm glad you asked," He said. "Four years ago my wife
and I nearly divorced. After forty years, we were in a real mess, but we
slogged through, problem by rotten problem. We rescued our marriage - our love,
really. Last year, at Thanksgiving, I stopped in here for flowers. I must have
mentioned surviving a tough process because Jenny told me that for a long time
she kept a vase of rose stems --- stems! --- As a reminder of what she learned
from 'thorny' times. That was good enough for me. I took home stems. My wife
and I decided to label each one for a specific thorny situation and give thanks
for what the problem taught us. I'm pretty sure this stem review is becoming a
tradition." Phil paid Jenny, thanked her again and as he left, 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 Jenny. "Well, my experience says that thorns make
roses more precious. We treasure God's providential care more during trouble
than at any other time. Remember, Sandra, Jesus wore a crown of thorns so that
we might know His love. Do not resent thorns." Tears rolled down Sandra's
cheeks. For the first time since the accident she loosened her grip on
resentment. "I'll take twelve long-stemmed thorns, please." "I
hoped you would, " Jenny said. "I'll have them ready in a minute.
Then, every time you see them, remember to appreciate both good and hard times.
We grow through both." "Thank you. What do I owe you?"
"Nothing. Nothing but a pledge to work toward healing your heart. The
first year's arrangement is always on me."
Jenny handed a card to Sandra. "I'll attach a card like this to
your arrangement but maybe you'd like to read it first. Go ahead, read
it." My God, I have never thanked Thee for my thorn! I have thanked Thee a
thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorn. Teach me the glory of
the cross I bear, teach me the value of my thorns. Show me that I have climbed
to Thee by the path of pain. Show me that my tears have made my rainbow.
-Author Unknown
This story also reminded me of another illustration someone once told me. When a foreign object enters an oyster it starts secreting a milky substance instead of trying to push the object out. The pearl slowly grows until the oyster dies, leaving behind it a perfect and sought-after pearl. Treasure your trials. Never try to push against them and become angry and bitter. Those very trials will eventually become pearls for you to treasure. Just like the rain that forms the rainbow.
God Bless,
Lou
