No one has ever promised us that we would be able to journey through this life on a bed of roses. Although there will be times when the roses in the garden of our life are in full bloom, there will be other times when it may seem that our roses have all but withered and died.
We must also realize that amongst the beauty of the roses there are thorns that can be very painful. We may wish that we could avoid being pricked by the thorns but those thorns are a natural part of the rosebush. And although being pricked by them may cause mild pain and discomfort, the good news is that the pain only lasts for a short time.
The beautiful roses represent the times of peace in our life, while the thorns represent the storm-tossed billows that tend to roll in from time to time. None of us like to face the raging storms, for unlike the thorns of the rose bush, the storms of life cause pain and discomfort on many different levels. However, it is often in the midst of a storm that we realize our greatest strengths that are helping us to endure the storms. Even though at times, they appear to last for an eternity, in reality, they only last for a season.
In the midst of a storm, if we remain focused and stay our course, we can have peace and serenity realizing that the morning always follows the night and that no matter how dark any night may seem, all is not lost, the sun will rise and shine again in our life, often shining brighter after the trial of the storm than before.
