Sunday, June 19, 2011

Rose Garden

A Rose Garden – Erica

“I never promised you a Rose garden.” Many of us have probably heard this from our mothers and grandmothers. All they were telling us was life isn’t fair, and it certainly wasn’t always going to be beautiful. For years, I took this statement to heart. When bad things would happen or something didn’t go as planned, I wasn’t caught off guard. I’d learned early that life wasn’t always pretty, easy, or joyful. As I got older, I started to re-evaluate that statement as well as Rose gardens.

We all know that Rose gardens are full of colorful beauty. They are sometimes shaped differently and have different colors based on the type of Rose it is. But, there tends to be one pretty consistent thing. They have prickly and sometimes painful thorns. They can be very bothersome, and if grabbed the wrong way, they can draw blood. Knowing this, I began to reflect on my life. There were times of peace, beauty and joy (Roses), but there have also been painful, hurtful, and fearful life experiences (thorns).

After piecing this together, I told my mother that I indeed was promised a Rose garden. We know that our days are uncertain, and that we will experience moments of joy (Roses) and pain (thorns). We must possess the ability to know that moments of pain don’t define who we are, but they do help build upon our beauty.

The number of thorns we will encounter will be many, but the beauty of the Rose (you and me) will remain, and eventually prevail. So ladies embrace your Rose garden (you), and know that in spite of your thorns you possess an immaculate beauty. You can endure big pricks, little pricks and even a little blood from time to time. But when all is said and done, you have to know that you are reflective of a beautiful Rose garden. People will always see the Rose and admire its beauty, but miss the thorn.