Lelia
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Donnie Parrett" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, November 19, 2007 10:40 PM
Subject: DAILY DEVOTION FOR TUESDAY NOVEMBER 20


> Thankful 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 Thanksgiving 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," Barbara 
> 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 children, 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 sent 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 thorns 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 never 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.
>
> Contact me at:
> Donnie Parrett
> 1956 Asa Flat Road
> Annville, KY  40402
> Home #  606-364-3321
> Cell #  606-438-2557
> Church #  606-364-PRAY
> Skype Name:  Donnie1261
> Email:  [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
>
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