Thankful for thorns

[Guest guest]

My daughter sent me the undernoted and I thought it was beautiful and would like

to share it with all of you.

 

May Swami Bless us all

Manju

 

The Daily Encourager

 

Thankful for the ThornsDavid LangerfeldThankful For The Thorns Sandra felt as

low as the heels of her Birkenstocks 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 Thanks! giving 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 her? For an

airbag that saved her life, but took her 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? Do you want the beautiful

but ordinary, or would you like to challenge the day with a customer favorite I

call the 'Thanksgiving Special'? 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 snipped: there were no flowers. "Do you want these 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," Bar! bara 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.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 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 childr! en, 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 the thought that 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 se! nt 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?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 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 thor!

ns 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 ne! ver 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. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Author Unknown

[Guest guest]

lying in the hospital bed - I was thanking Swami for restraining the vehicle

that injured me from not going over my leg. This day dreaming kept the thought

of pain away. Then the police got the vehice driver of the errant vehicle -

they were amazed that I did not want to pursue a case againt the driver. For me

it was the awareness that it was my karma unfolding - all the driver had done

was to be an instrument in the hands of God - I did not feel angry or had any

ill felling for the driver - he had just facilitated the unfolding of my karma.

After 5 months - there were medical problem wrt to the healing of the leg.

Near and dears were pressing me to file a complaint against the Doctor - but

again I refused, the doctor did nothing wrong - If my karma was to be facing

such problems - then so be it - why trouble the doctor. In this I got two

good friends - the police constable who brought the driver to me and the

doctor. Sai Ram ~ Be Happy JP ~~~~~~~~~~Manju Naul <mnaul (AT) trident (DOT) co.ke>

wrote: My daughter sent me the undernoted and I thought it was beautiful and

would like to share it with all of you. May Swami Bless us all Manju

The Daily Encourager Thankful for the ThornsDavid Langerfeld

LOVE ALL SERVE ALL E Great (India) & Co. 39 Shahpur Jat, Opp: Asiad Village

Gate New Delhi 110049 INDIA Telefax: 011 2649 6715 / 16

[Guest guest]

....we must also realize ...every moment ...that the Driver and you and the

police constable and the Doctor and Swami ---All are same ONE energy /

Consciousness ---in true REALITY ...but appear to be different bodies ...in

'surface reality' ( like a mirage of 'water' in the desert!) Anyway ...it

was really nice of you to post a really inspiring stuff. Ram

RAM RAM

Thank you & God bless.

Om Sri Sai Ram

Sarvathah paanipaadam Tat sarvatokshi siromukham Sarvathah sruthimalloke Sarvamavritya thishthathi