Thanksgiving Thorns~ Long but worth the read!!

[Guest guest]

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

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, '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 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 . " 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! " blurted out. " In the last five months,

everything that

could go wrong has gone wrong. " regretted her outburst, and was

surprised when the shop clerk said, " I have the perfect arrangement

for you.

Then the 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. 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.

" Uh, " stammered , " 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 .

" 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 .

" I learned to be thankful for thorns, " answered the clerk

quietly. " I've

always thanked God for good things in life and never to ask Him why

those

good things happened to me, but when bad stuff hit, did I ever ask!

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. "

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

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 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.

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 , " I highly recommend the

Special! "

" I don't know if I can be thankful for the thorns in my life. "

said

to the clerk. " 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 '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

. " 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 my

tears

have made my rainbow. " - Matheson

.

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