CHARLOTTE, N.C. — I was always curious: Did the rose need the thorns, or did the thorns need the rose?
It is obvious that they both needed each other. We once had a rose bush in our front yard. I was walking from the car one day and was inspired to pick a few roses from the bush to give to my wife.
Well, it was an experience I will never forget and I have the scar to prove it! You guessed it ... the thorn wasn't having it. The thorn rose to the occasion (pun intended) to defend the honor of the rose. And you guessed it: I got a revelation!
The rose has a beauty that is to be admired. The thorn has a responsibility to protect the beauty of the rose.
So keeping this idea in mind, if your life is as beautiful as a rose, why are the beautiful areas of your life protected by the painful areas? Think about it, so many of us use our pain as a shield to keep the beauty of life away.
Life will prick you at times. Life will poke and scar you but your pain cannot be the dominant part of our life's story. The reason: No one buys the rose because of the thorn. They buy a rose because of the beauty.
Focus on what is beautiful, not what hurts.
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