Sandra felt as low
as the heels of her Birkenstocks as she pushed against a November gust and the
florist shop door. Her life had been easy, like a spring breeze. Then in the
fourth month of her second pregnancy, a minor automobile accident stole her ease.
During this Thanksgiving week she would have delivered a son. She grieved over
her loss.
As if that weren't
enough her husband's company threatened a transfer. Then her sister, whose
holiday visit she coveted, called saying she could not come. What's worse,
Sandra's friend infuriated her by suggesting her grief was a God-given path to
maturity that would allow her to empathize with others who suffer. "Had
she lost a child? No--she has no idea what I'm feeling,"
Sandra shuddered.
Thanksgiving? "Thankful for what?" she wondered. For a careless
driver whose truck was hardly scratched when he rear-ended her? For an airbag
that saved her life but took that of her child?
"Good
afternoon, can I help you?" The flower shop clerk's approach startled her.
"Sorry," said Jenny, "I just didn't want you to think I was
ignoring you."
"I....I need
an arrangement. "
"For
Thanksgiving? "
Sandra nodded.
"Do you want
beautiful but ordinary, or would you like to challenge the day with a customer
favorite I call the Thanksgiving Special." Jenny saw Sandra's curiosity
and continued. "I'm convinced that flowers tell stories, that each
arrangement insinuates a particular feeling. Are you looking for something that
conveys gratitude this Thanksgiving? "
"Not
exactly!" Sandra blurted. "Sorry, but in the last five months,
everything that could go wrong has."
Sandra regretted her
outburst but was surprised when Jenny said, "I have the perfect
arrangement for you." The door's small bell suddenly rang.
"Barbara!
Hi," Jenny said. She politely excused herself from Sandra and walked
toward a small workroom. She quickly reappeared carrying a massive arrangement
of greenery, bows, and long-stemmed thorny roses. Only, the ends of the rose
stems were neatly snipped, no flowers.
"Want this in
a box?" Jenny asked. Sandra watched for Barbara's response. Was this a
joke? Who would want rose stems and no flowers! She waited for laughter, for
someone to notice the absence of flowers atop the thorny stems, but neither
woman did.
"Yes, please.
It's exquisite," said Barbara. "You'd think after three years of
getting the special, I'd not be so moved by its significance, but it's
happening again. My family will love this one. Thanks."
Sandra stared.
"Why so normal a conversation about so strange an arrangement? she
wondered. "Ah, said Sandra, pointing. "That lady just left with,
ah....."
"Yes?"
"Well, she had
no flowers!"
"Right, I cut
off the flowers."
"Off?"
"Off. Yep.
That's the Special. I call it the Thanksgiving Thorns Bouquet."
"But, why do
people pay for that?" In spite of herself she chuckled."
"Do you really
want to know?"
"I couldn't
leave this shop without knowing. I'd think about nothing else!"
"That might be
good," said Jenny. "Well," she continued, "Barbara came
into the shop three years ago feeling very much like you feel today. She
thought she had very little to be thankful for. She had lost her father to
cancer, the family business was failing, her son was into drugs, and she faced
major surgery."
"Ouch!"
said Sandra.
"That same
year, I lost my husband. I assumed complete responsibility for the shop and for
the first time, spent the holidays alone. I had no children, no husband, no
family nearby, and too great a debt to allow any travel."
"What did you
do?"
"I learned to
be thankful for thorns."
Sandra's eyebrows
lifted. "Thorns?"
"I'm a
Christian, Sandra. I've always thanked God for good things in life and I never
thought to ask Him why good things happened to me? But, when bad stuff hit, did
I ever ask! It took time to learn that dark times are important. I always
enjoyed the 'flowers' of life but it took thorns to show me the beauty of God's
comfort. You know, the Bible says that God comforts us when we're afflicted and
from His consolation we learn to comfort others."
Sandra gasped.
"A friend read that passage to me and I was furious! I guess the truth is
I don't want comfort. I've lost a baby and I'm angry with God."
She started to ask
Jenny to "go on" when the door's bell diverted their attention.
"Hey, Phil!" shouted Jenny as a balding, rotund man entered the shop.
She softly touched Sandra's arm and moved to welcome him. He tucked her under
his side for a warm hug.
"I'm here for
twelve thorny long-stemmed stems!" Phil laughed, heartily.
"I figured as
much," said Jenny. "I've got them ready." She lifted a
tissue-wrapped arrangement from the refrigerated cabinet.
"Beautiful,"
said Phil. "My wife will love them."
Sandra could not
resist asking. "These are for your wife?"
Phil saw that
Sandra's curiosity matched his when he first heard of a Thorn Bouquet.
"Do you mind
me asking, "Why thorns?"
"In fact, I'm
glad you asked," he said. "Four years ago my wife and I nearly
divorced. After forty years, we were in a real mess, but we slogged through,
problem by rotten problem. We rescued our marriage--our love, really. Last year
at Thanksgiving I stopped in here for flowers. I must have mentioned surviving
a tough process because Jenny told me that for a long time she kept a vase of
rose stems--stems! -as a reminder of what she learned from "thorny"
times. That was good enough for me. I took home stems. My wife and I decided to
label each one for a specific thorny situation and give thanks for what the
problem taught us. I'm pretty sure this stem review is becoming a
tradition."
Phil paid Jenny,
thanked her again and as he left, said to Sandra, "I highly recommend the
Special!"
"I don't know
if I can be thankful for the thorns in my life." Sandra said to Jenny.
"Well, my
experience says that thorns make roses more precious. We treasure God's
providential care more during trouble than at any other time. Remember, Sandra,
Jesus wore a crown of thorns so that we might know His love. Do not resent
thorns."
Tears rolled down
Sandra's cheeks. For the first time since the accident she loosened her grip on
resentment. "I'll take twelve long-stemmed thorns, please."
"I hoped you
would," Jenny said. "I'll have them ready in a minute. Then, every
time you see them, remember to appreciate both good and hard times. We grow
through both."
"Thank you.
What do I owe you?"
"Nothing.
Nothing but a pledge to work toward healing your heart. The first year's
arrangement is always on me." Jenny handed a card to Sandra. "I'll
attach a card like this to your arrangement but maybe you'd like to read it
first. Go ahead, read it.
"My God, I
have never thanked Thee for my thorn! I have thanked Thee a thousand times for
my roses, but never once for my thorn. Teach me the glory of the cross I bear,
teach me the value of my thorns. Show me that I have climbed to Thee by the
path of pain. Show me that my tears have made my rainbow.--George Matheson"
Jenny said,
"Happy Thanksgiving, Sandra," handing her the Special.
"I look
forward to our knowing each other better." Sandra smiled. She turned,
opened the door, and walked toward hope.
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