Vero's thought of the week
Thankful for the Thorns
Roses are very interesting. There is the flower, which is beautiful. But there are also the thorns, which sometimes seems useless, and can be painful. But the purpose of these thorns are to protect the beautiful rose. Intruders can not get to the flower as easily with these prickly objects.
A few weeks ago, I had a very difficult night. It was definitely a thorn in my side. The past few months of walking on eggshells at home finally got to me, and I came home from class sobbing. I callled Laura and cried again, finally admitting how much I hate Irvine, how much I miss "home" and how i can't wait to move back to covina, how horrible i feel that liz -- who was once proof to me that God existed -- and I have no relationship anymore.
the next morning at work was very hectic. It didn't help that during our morning rush, a frantic woman called because she lost her cell phone. I couldn't find it but she kept calling, beging me to keep looking. Finally after the rush died down, i found it underneath a chair. She was so ecstatic that she drove all the way from long beach to pick up the phone before my shift ended. She gave me a dozen red roses and a card that read "you are my angel. i hope someone makes you as happy as you made me today." Granted, it was a bit odd receiving roses (especially red) from a woman. But I know it was a gift from God; a tangible reminder that He loves His messed up daughter Vero, the one who tries to fix everything herself and ends up making it worse. These were 12 roses from Him, and yes the thorns were removed.
Yes, thorns are necessary for flowers. God placed them there for a reason. But we tend to make thorns for ourselves -- protective shields to try to keep the hurt away. These thorns could be bitterness, the tendency to be standoff-ish, putting on a cold front to deter people... anything. However, these thorns only hurt us more than anyone else.
God is the only shield, the only "thorn" we need. Is it odd to think of God as a thorn? Yes, and it is probably not the most theologically sound definition of our Father. However when using the analogy of thorn as protection, it makes a lot of sense. We try to use our own protection, and we wonder why we always get hurt in the process. With
God as our Thorn, we are protected and come out (ahem) shining like a rose.
Roses are very interesting. There is the flower, which is beautiful. But there are also the thorns, which sometimes seems useless, and can be painful. But the purpose of these thorns are to protect the beautiful rose. Intruders can not get to the flower as easily with these prickly objects.
A few weeks ago, I had a very difficult night. It was definitely a thorn in my side. The past few months of walking on eggshells at home finally got to me, and I came home from class sobbing. I callled Laura and cried again, finally admitting how much I hate Irvine, how much I miss "home" and how i can't wait to move back to covina, how horrible i feel that liz -- who was once proof to me that God existed -- and I have no relationship anymore.
the next morning at work was very hectic. It didn't help that during our morning rush, a frantic woman called because she lost her cell phone. I couldn't find it but she kept calling, beging me to keep looking. Finally after the rush died down, i found it underneath a chair. She was so ecstatic that she drove all the way from long beach to pick up the phone before my shift ended. She gave me a dozen red roses and a card that read "you are my angel. i hope someone makes you as happy as you made me today." Granted, it was a bit odd receiving roses (especially red) from a woman. But I know it was a gift from God; a tangible reminder that He loves His messed up daughter Vero, the one who tries to fix everything herself and ends up making it worse. These were 12 roses from Him, and yes the thorns were removed.
Yes, thorns are necessary for flowers. God placed them there for a reason. But we tend to make thorns for ourselves -- protective shields to try to keep the hurt away. These thorns could be bitterness, the tendency to be standoff-ish, putting on a cold front to deter people... anything. However, these thorns only hurt us more than anyone else.
God is the only shield, the only "thorn" we need. Is it odd to think of God as a thorn? Yes, and it is probably not the most theologically sound definition of our Father. However when using the analogy of thorn as protection, it makes a lot of sense. We try to use our own protection, and we wonder why we always get hurt in the process. With
God as our Thorn, we are protected and come out (ahem) shining like a rose.