A rose among thorns

Once upon a time (a sad and unhappy time), there has a beautiful Rose. She lived all by herself, surrounded by thorns. The Rose could not remember anything different, in fact she did not even know that she was a Rose.

All day long the Rose would sit among the thorns believing this was her place, this was where she belonged; she always did feel that she wasn’t quite the same as all the thorns around her, but she couldn’t quite put a petal on the difference. After all she had never seen herself.

One day as the Rose sat drooping among the thorns, she said unhappily to herself, “Why, oh why do I feel like I don’t belong here?
She didn’t even realize that she had said it out loud, and a beautiful sing-song voice answered her, “Because, Rose, you are not meant to be here.” The Rose was startled by the voice and she turned to see a beautiful butterfly hovering over her.

“Who are you?” she asked, “A better question is, who are you?” the Butterfly answered. “I am a thorn.” She answered simply, “No, you are not a thorn, you are a Rose.” “What is a Rose?” The name sounded so sweet, so perfect; too good to be true. The butterfly pointed down to a puddle in the earth, “Look!” The Rose looked down into that puddle, she remembered when it had stormed the night before, how unhappy and afraid that had made her. But even the
storm can bring joy when seen the right way.

The Rose saw her reflection for the first time as a result of that storm she saw a bloom, a pink., glowing, petal covered bloom; so beautiful… “Could that really be me?” She whispered, to which the Butterfly replied “That’s what I thought when I first saw my reflection, after emerging from my chrysalis. What helped me to believe was to see a scar I remembered getting long ago. Do you have any scars?” The Rose remembered a painful memory of being cut by her friends, she looked for the scar and sure enough there was a rip in a few of her petals, “It is me! I’m beautiful! I’m a rose!”
The butterfly smiled, “But it doesn’t end there, you need behave like a Rose if you are one. After I became a Butterfly I had to stop crawling on the ground like a worm and I had to fly, that’s what Butterflies do.”
“Oh, but what do Roses do?” The Rose asked. “I’m not sure,” said the Butterfly, “but I know Someone who does!”

The Rose was eager to hear more, so the Butterfly told her of a Man who had also been torn by thorns, a Man who had also been hurt by His friends, a Man who was perfect, but was surrounded by imperfection. “This Man died, but He still lives, He will surely tell you what Roses do.” The Butterfly ended, “I have to go now, I have to fly to the sun.”

And with that she fluttered away. The Rose looked down at her reflection again. “I can’t stay here.” She said, “But what am I supposed to do?” suddenly a warmth touched her, she raised her blossom to see that there was a Ray of Light shining down through the thorns and touching her. “Do you know?” she asked the Ray without thinking about what she was doing.

“I am sent from the sun.” The Ray answered. The Rose was surprised, “Do you know what I am supposed to do? How do I get to the Man who suffered so much the same as me?” The Ray warmed her all over when it spoke, “He is my Source, I know Him well. He sent me to tell you what Roses do.” The Rose could hardly believe what she was hearing. “What?” She cried, “What do Roses do?”

Finally, her answer to who she was. “A Rose is meant to grow, to bloom, to seed and create more roses. A Rose is meant to always keep her bloom held high, she is to reach for the sun always. Grow, Rose, grow beyond the thorns that surround you, leave them behind. Grow into the sky. Seek the Son. And don’t worry, I will be here to guide you the whole way, He is my Source.”

So the Rose raised her bloom and stretched, of course it would be a hard journey, especially until she got free of the thorns, but she knew it was worth it, she knew that this was what she was meant to do, this was what Roses do. They grow. So the Rose started her journey toward the Son, every day getting closer and closer to Him as she followed and listened to the Ray.