“Nobody picks grapes or figs from thorn bushes; only good
trees produce fruit!” ~ Matthew 7:16-17
Kendra felt lower than whale poop;
her life totally sucked right now.
During this Thanksgiving week she was supposed to have
delivered a son. But a traffic accident
ended their dream. She’d only been
pregnant 12 weeks, but those were the happiest days of her life. They were making plans, their parents were
ecstatic.
"Thanksgiving? Thankful
for what?" she wondered. For a drunk
driver who survived the crash unharmed? For
an airbag that saved her life but took the life of her unborn child? For the emptiness that now consumed her?
She entered the Florist shop looking for something that
might bring a little cheer to their holiday table. The shopkeeper greeted her briefly as she
appeared from the workroom in back carrying an arrangement of long-stemmed thorns. The beautiful roses had been removed!
Kendra waited for the customer’s response. Was this a joke? Who’d want rose stems with no flowers! She waited for laughter, but gravity prevailed.
"Yep, that’s the Special,” replied Betty – the store
owner. I call it the Thorn Blessing
Bouquet."
"You can't tell me someone is willing to pay for
that!" exclaimed Kendra.
"That woman came into the shop 3 years ago, with little
to be thankful for. She’d lost her
father to cancer, the family business was failing, and her son was into drugs. I’d just lost my own husband," continued
Betty," and for the first time in my life, I faced the holidays alone – no
children or family nearby, and too much debt to allow any travel. I was terrified!"
"What’d you do?" asked Kendra.
"I learned to be thankful for thorns," answered
the clerk softly. "I've always
enjoyed the 'flowers' of life, but it took ‘thorns’ to show me the beauty of
God's comfort. He reassures us when
we're troubled, and from His example we learn to comfort others. Now I praise Him for my roses, and thank Him
for my thorns.”
Kendra thought about Betty’s comment. Truthfully, she didn’t want comfort. She’d lost a baby and was angry with God. Tears warmed her cheeks. For the first time since the accident, she relaxed
her grip on bitterness. "I’ll take
twelve long-stemmed thorns, please," she choked.
"I hoped you would," Betty said kindly.
"Thank you, how much do I owe you?" Kendra asked.
"Nothing . . . nothing but a promise to allow God to
heal your heart. The first year's
arrangement is always on me." She
smiled before attaching the following card:
“My God, I’ve thanked You a thousand times
for my roses, but never once for my thorns.
Teach me the glory of the cross I bear; the value of my thorns. Show me that through my tears, the colors of Your
rainbow look much more brilliant. Amen”
