PART TWO: Thinking Like a Rose

dmc_emmy
dmc_emmy Member Posts: 549
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
Whether you believe in a higher power or not, there is substance to the "message" that is sent in the parable: The Gardner and the Rose

THINKING LIKE A ROSE

Every good parable has a message, and this one is no exception. There are actually three valuable lessons to be learned. First, the rose had to learn to trust the gardener in the face of difficulty. Second, the rose was invited to discover something new about what it means to be a rose bush. Third, learning was only the first step. The rose still had to put forth the extra effort to become the very best rose bush possible.

As humans, we also face tests and difficulties every day. Like the roses, we also have three lessons to learn from them.

First, we are invited to trust the guiding hand of our Creator. No matter how painful or difficult the situation, we will be able to survive and thrive if we have faith in God’s love and care.

Second, growth is the result of self-discovery. Unless we know who and what we are, how can we grow? Until we explore our untapped potential, how can we tap it?

Third, growth takes work and commitment. It is easy to wish for an easy life, but it is hard to become the kind of person for whom difficult situations are easy. We have very little control over the things that happen around us, but we have a great deal of control over our willingness and capacity to respond to them.

These are the three lessons of the rose bush. When you really understand them, you can turn a difficult life into a bed of roses.

Comments

  • tasha_111
    tasha_111 Member Posts: 2,072
    #2
    Wow............ Nice One
    Thing grow better after a good pruning, roses especially........Hair too....Some plants you have to give a really good haircut to, to encourage them to come back 10 fold next spring.... It worked with me. If you left them unpruned, they'd come back just as weak and straggly as they were the year before..........
    Thanks Jxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • shortscake
    shortscake Member Posts: 228
    #3
    wow
    wow that is so true but so hard. i wish all of us a bed of roses. girl power
  • KathiM
    KathiM Member Posts: 8,028 Member
    #4
    And sometimes, from the new branches,
    Comes a bloom of an entirely different color and shape!!!

    My life is not at all the way it was. Some had to do with the cancer, some with 5 years of ageing and losing loved ones, some with the lessons the world has given me.

    Thank you for the story, dearheart!

    Hugs, Kathi
  • crselby
    crselby Member Posts: 441 Member
    #5
    Wow.
    This is an amazing parable and comes at the time in the desert of Arizona when rose bushes need to be pruned.

    Thanks so much for sharing this (and Part Two). I saved it in my Favorites, and sent it to all my email friends who were/are following my cancer journey. I will re-read frequently for the joy it gives me.

    Thanks again for sharing.
    ~~Connie~~
  • dmc_emmy
    dmc_emmy Member Posts: 549
    #6
    crselby said:

    Wow.
    This is an amazing parable and comes at the time in the desert of Arizona when rose bushes need to be pruned.

    Thanks so much for sharing this (and Part Two). I saved it in my Favorites, and sent it to all my email friends who were/are following my cancer journey. I will re-read frequently for the joy it gives me.

    Thanks again for sharing.
    ~~Connie~~

    So glad you enjoyed the parable
    Dear Friends,
    I am glad that I could share this story with you all. I know that it made me think about where I have been and where I am going. I don't know why I was forced to go on this journey (as I am sure none of you know either). I hope I have learned something of value that I can pass along.
    dmc
    PS
    I read this story to the students in one of my HS classes. I asked them if they knew the lesson that the parable was teaching. With some editing, I read them the intended lesson (in a public school, I am not allowed to discuss anything that remotely relates to religion). They all listened. This was an excellent lesson for all.

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