Friends, Grace and Roses

[ShePurzz]

Just a beautiful story I heard on the Christian radio today and thought I would do my best to paraphrase a part of it -- it kinda links with the previous thread "I Hate Religion" and I thought it was worth trying to re-tell it if I can.

It was about friendships, Christian friendships, and those people we consider to be our good friends. It may be your best friend, a neighbor who you spend a lot of time with, a co-worker, your spouse or boyfriend, your childhood friend, or the ladies at your church or synagogue.

However, these are all people who are human, just like us. We have perhaps been in this friendship for years on end. We trust this person to never hurt us, but inevitably the time comes when they let us down.

Perhaps they aren't there when you need them the most -- possibly they say something very hurtful, or perhaps they know you are in need of some help, but they just don't offer to give you a second thought. You feel rejected, hurt, disappointed in them and perhaps you start to wonder why you ever considered them to be your friend --- afterall, wouldn't you have done anything for them if the situation were reversed?

Here is where GRACE comes into play -- we need to extend grace when we are let down -- how difficult is that?

Well, here is the analogy she shared on the radio and I thought it was just beautiful, and for those of us with IC and who often need a LOT of help and support, I think it may be helpful to many on here.

We love the roses, we love the smell and the beauty of seeing them either in a garden, or in a vase. However, if you want to have these beautiful flowers in your life, you also need to learn to deal with the thorns. A gardener who wishes to grow roses must learn to live with the thorns as well as the beauty of the roses. Our friends and family can sometimes be a thorn, but with grace, we can continue to live in the beautiful rose garden if we will just accept that sometimes, even the best of friend can let you down.

Love the roses, appreciate the beauty of the roses, but remember, along with the beauty and scent of a rose, comes a thorn -- it can hurt you -- but you can also learn to 'forgive' and extend 'grace' and continue to love the beautifiul garden (which does continue to produce thorns!) of your life.

Be Blessed Today!
Mary
(Shep)

[Trishann]

Mary, thank you for sharing your story.

Hugs, Trishann