The Wandering Rose -- A Parable

      

     

 "Comparative uselessness is the condition of freedom from suffering." 

--Homera Homer-Dixon

      Once upon a time there was a little pink rose who sat in a garden shop wishing for a home. Week after week she waited, being watered by the kind workers at the garden shop, but it just wasn't the same as having a home to adorn and an owner to bloom for. At last, one sunny day a sweet little lady took the rose home and planted her in her front yard. She watered the young plant as best she could, but soon she had to move away, and the rose found herself suddenly dug up and moved to a nearby house. The nice man who claimed her seemed to have lots of fun with his friends, and he kept the rose watered well enough, but still she stayed small and bore just a few blooms each year. 

      Then one day the man didn't come home, and the rose was very sad. She nearly dried up from neglect until the day the Master Gardener arrived. He saw that rose and immediately loved it! There was one pale, sad bloom, and the Master said, "I'm taking you home with me, and I'll care for you until you thrive and make my garden beautiful with your gorgeous pink blooms!"

      The Master Gardener carried the rose home and carefully chose the perfect spot to plant it-- just the right combination of sunlight and shade, the perfect soil and drainage, and room for the small bush to grow. He loosened the soil and dug a hole that allowed for plenty of space for the roots, then carefully placed the rose in it and tamped down the soil gently, so as not to harm the tender roots. The rose sighed in happiness, then shrank in dismay as the Gardener began to cut its branches with a sharp instrument! How pitiful the rose looked, a mere shadow of its former self, and yet life remained in its trimmed branches, though it was difficult to see through the cold winter months. 

      The rose rested and waited, wondering why Someone would do such a thing, cut off its nice green leaves and leave it with little defense in the chilly winds of winter. The months wore on, and the rose could do nothing but sit in dormancy and wonder, "What's the point, if I can't produce a bloom or even a new leaf?" But slowly, almost imperceptibly, the air and the soil began to warm, as sunshine lingered and days grew longer. One day the little rose noticed a tiny spot on one of its stems, and in a very short time that spot swelled up and suddenly, it seemed, was joined by many other tiny spots which quickly expanded as the days grew warmer. Almost overnight those spots burst forth into the most glorious leaves the little rose had ever produced! And then-- miracle of miracles-- flower buds began to form all over the now fully leafed-out bush. The rose was so excited she shivered in every breeze with the thrill of it, and she noticed that the Master Gardener visited her often, fed and watered her, and even said tender words that sounded quite loving and encouraging to her. 

      The day those buds began opening, the rose blushed with joy, and as more and more blossoms opened, she emitted the most glorious fragrance. The Gardener visited her more and more frequently, and even brought friends to enjoy the wondrous sight and smell of the bush He had cultivated so carefully. As the visitors made sounds of pleasure over the beautiful rose, she wished she could tell them, "I did nothing at all to deserve this! It was all the Master's care! What hurt me, the pruning and waiting, I would never have chosen, but the Master knew what it would take to make me fulfill my purpose and show my true beauty to the fullest for HIS glory!" And it was worth it. 

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful."

(John 15:1-2 NIV)

 "He must increase, but I must decrease"  (John 3:30)

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NOTE: With sincerest thanks to Master Gardener and sister in Christ, Linda Burnett, who shared this story and photo.