The Blessing of Thorns

I received this in my mailbox from a very dear friend, and while i was reading it, I know that i am guilty as charged for I have still so much to learn in life! Would like to share it with you:

THE BLESSING OF THORNS

Sandra felt as low as the heels of her shoes 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 that from her.

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 for the holiday.

Then 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.
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 that of her child?

"Good afternoon, can I help you?" The shop clerk's approach startled her.

I....I need an arrangement," stammered Sandra.

"For Thanksgiving? Do you want beautiful but ordinary, or would you like to
challenge the day with a customer favorite I call the Thanksgiving "Special?"
asked the shop clerk. "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 shop clerk said,
"I have the perfect arrangement for you."

Just then the shop door's small bell rang, and the shop clerk said, "Hi,
Barbara...let me get your order." She politely excused herself and walked
toward a small workroom, then quickly reappeared, carrying an arrangement
of greenery, bows, and long-stemmed thorny roses. Except the ends of the
rose stems were neatly snipped: there were no flowers.

"Want this in a box?" asked the clerk.

Sandra watched for the customer's response. 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. And she left with her order.

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

"Right, said the clerk, "I cut off the flowers. That's the Special. I call
it the Thanksgiving Thorns Bouquet."

"Oh, come on, you can't tell me someone is willing to pay for that!"
exclaimed Sandra.

"Barbara came into the shop three years ago feeling much like you feel today,"
explained the clerk. "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 was facing major surgery."

"That same year I had lost my husband," continued the clerk, "and for the first
time in my life, had just spent the holidays alone. I had no children, no
husband, no family nearby, and too great a 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 never questioned the
good things that happened to me, but when bad stuff hit, did I ever ask
questions! It took time for me to learn that dark times are important. I
have 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 sucked in her breath as she thought about the very thing 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!" shouted the clerk to
the balding, rotund man.

"My wife sent me in to get our usual Thanksgiving Special....12 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 me
asking why she wants something that looks like that?"

"No...I'm glad you asked," Phil replied. "Four years ago my wife and I
nearly divorced. After forty years, we were in a real mess, but with the
Lord's grace and guidance, we slogged through problem after problem. He
rescued our marriage. Jenny here (the clerk) told me she kept a vase of
rose stems to remind her of what she learned from "thorny" times, and
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.
"It's all too...fresh."

"Well," the clerk replied carefully, "my experience has shown me that thorns
make roses more precious. We treasure God's providential care more during
trouble than at any other time. Remember, 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 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 your roses; thank him for your thorns!

-- Author Unknown

I learned once again to stop moaning about everything that went wrong in my life and start saying thanks for all the "thorns". Some may say how can you say thank you for things that is going wrong, like a divorce, the death of a close friend or relative, retrenchment, a rebellious child, a terminally sick friend or yourself, financially ruined, emotionally hurt, etc.... yes i asked that same question... but this reminds me again to Praise Him for the roses and thank HIm for the thorns!