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 PARABLE OF THE ROSE
(Author Unknown)
A certain man planted a rose and watered it faithfully and
before it blossomed, he examined it. He saw the bud that
would soon blossom, but noticed thorns upon the stem and he
thought, "How can any beautiful flower come from a plant
burdened with so many sharp thorns?"
Sadden by this thought, he neglected to water the rose, and
before it was ready to bloom, it died.
So it is with many people. Within every soul there is a
rose. The God like qualities planted in us at birth growing
amid the thorns of our faults. Many of us look at ourselves
and see only the thorns, the defects. We despair, thinking
that nothing good can possibly come from us. We neglect to
water the good within us, and eventually it dies. We never
realize our potential.
Some people do not see the rose within themselves; someone
else must show it to them. One of the greatest gifts a
person can possess is to be able to reach past the thorns
and find the rose within others.
This is the characteristic of love--to look at a person and
know their true faults. Accepting that person into your
life, while recognizing the nobility in their soul. Help
them to realize that they can overcome their faults. If we
show them the rose, they will conquer their thorns. Only
then will they blossom many times over.
For The Heart of Stone
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