Marci, & My Rose Garden

Today I went out to my Rose garden and found, (what I thought) to be an over grown mess, a garden that had been terribly neglected, and one that I didn't think was very lovely! Some of my plants were taller them me and had fallen over because of their weight, others had become all thorny, while still others had brown spots on them. So being full of pride. I decided what I would do! I went to my supply shelf and grabbed my heavy duty rose clippers, intending to cut them all down to stubs, hoping that they might give new a new blooming in a month or so.

If you look closely you will see that they aren't too healthy.

But when I got closer to the plants I noticed that all the color and beauty was on the very top of each plant. All I had seen at my first glance was the overwhelming amount of green stems. I put my clippers down and went in the house and got one of my favorite vases, filled it with water and carefully carried to the sidewalk by the rose garden and began filling it up with every rose that I thought had some beauty in its buds. I came to see that there were some roses that were nearly perfect, but they weren't my favorites.

There were actually many of them that were still very alive and vibrant. The colors were varied, I just kept cutting thinking that none of the colors matched and that my arrangement would not be that great, but I kept filling my favorite vase. After one plant was looked over thoroughly I would move on to the next, finding a completely different color. I clearly remember being pricked at my ankle and on my hands by a few of my rose bushes, but I carefully moved forward.
This time being more aware of where each rose bush was! I didn't want get too close. It seemed like the really great blooms were in deep and most guarded by all those long stems (with thorns) that I was telling you about earlier.
I would look at each stem as I cut it from the plant and trim the excess leaves and thorns from it. Then I would choose it's place in my vase. It took me about twenty to thirty minutes to see my vase start to fill up.
I soon saw the beauty that was ALWAYS there, I just had to help it come to it's full purpose.
(That of bringing me joy by it's gathered existence).

Then I was so pleased with what I came up with-this lovely arrangement.
This is my favorite!
Are all of the roses perfect? NO! But they all have beauty, and together they make a perfection of nature. A treasure that came from the hand of God. Did I make the flowers NO, but was my part of gathering them together important, YES!
Marci, my dear sweet friend,

this how our Heavenly Father sees us, we are all wonderful, unique, and filled with endless potential. Do we stand well alone, NO! Do we sometimes need pruning YES! This is why we have been given the miracle unit called a family. In it we will feel, experience, try, wonder, hurt, fall short, cry, achieve, love, forgive, and always move forward, trying to not let the thorns, the brown spots or the tangling vines over come us.

These babies are yours because they knew you were suppose to be their dear mother, and that only you would have what they need to succeed!

Will you and Jim be stronger and more beautiful because of your stewardship's.

I shout with a resounding YES!

God loves and trusts you so very much!

We Love You!