Life is a bed of roses

Did you gasp when you read the title? I won't be surprised if you did because the common saying is: "life is not a bed of roses"...well as the legal person in me would say: "I put it to you my ladies (and lords), that life is a bed of roses and I will elaborate further..."

When people say that "life is not a bed of roses", I suspect that they are referring to a bed of rose petals. Rose petals are not the same thing as a rose...they are just a part of a rose.

Rose petals smell really nice and are attractive which may be why the saying was developed so people don't get deceived to think that life is always that "rosy".

Well, let's look at a real bed of roses and a complete rose...

A bed of roses has roses at every stage of development - budding, blooming, and even withering. Each rose has a stem which has thorns on them, roots and soil that supports the plant. Note that it's not one thorn per rose but several thorns on one rose stem.

When you consider your life today, you are at one of those stages in different areas of your life. For instance, you may be learning a new skill i.e. budding, excelling in ministry/career i.e. blooming and working on losing weight i.e. "withering weight".

To support that "rose", you need a stem and roots which provide nutrition and motivation to either continue what you're doing or initiate a course correction. And of course we cannot forget the thorns - the thorns which prick you to remind you that you are still human. These thorns could be the challenges of everyday lliving or just "irritations" God has put in your life to keep you focussed on your purpose in life. One example of an "irritation" is someone you really don't like who keeps crossing your path - well, how can you learn to love if God doesn't bring the "unlovable" your way? Did I touch a nerve? Maybe this blog is also one thorn God has blessed you with.

Indeed thorns are blessings...oh, I just found out that they are not really thorns. "Rose plants have prickles not thorns. Roses use prickles to ward off predators which may help extend their life."*

Likewise, the prickles (thorns) in our lives are there to help extend our lives otherwise we could easily fall into sin and be destroyed by the devil.

Even Paul acknowledged their benefit: And to keep me from being puffed up and too much elated by the exceeding greatness (preeminence) of these revelations, there was given me a thorn (a splinter) in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to rack and buffet and harass me, to keep me from being excessively exalted. (2 Cor 12:7 - Amplified) So you see, that's why I believe without any shadow of doubt that life is a bed of roses - the thorns are there for our own good. Let's learn to use them to our benefit - and become better people.

In closing, for those of us who love flowers (and possibly receive them - maybe even as recently as on Sunday for Mothers' day) and those who don't, may we be reminded to give off a good scent, beautify every place we find ourselves and appreciate the thorns in our lives.

Reference
*http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_does_the_rose_plant_have_thorns