Do Your thorns Have Roses?

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4, ESV). I may have discovered a new “proverb” for adoption: "Don't grieve that your roses have thorns. Rejoice instead that your thorns have roses." It is a different perspective for many of us. Most people naturally grieve because of the thorns in their life. The roses are there, however they are blinded to them because of the thorns. I guess it came at just the right time. I went to my cardiologist a few weeks ago to begin a regimen to control the Atrial Fibrillation I experience. I thought I was doing pretty well. I was recovering a little ahead of schedule from surgery and felt pretty good. The news was not as good after the exam as I had hoped it would be. He scheduled me for a procedure to get it back into rhythm. Arriving at the hospital I waited for the procedure to begin only to be told that I didn’t need it after all. I was very happy at that news. Then the doctor told me that I needed to wear a monitor for a month. After that we’ll know more about treatment. Really it was good news. But, I was disappointed. I saw the thorns, not the roses! We can't change the reality that life is full of pain and suffering. Life has dealt some of us bad hands, but we can change the way we look at "bad luck." Our lives, for the most part, are governed by factors beyond our control, but we can control our attitudes. The freedom to choose our thoughts is really the only freedom we have. God blessed America in that our forefathers recognized this when they drew up our constitution. It does not guarantee happiness. It does grant the right to pursue happiness through freedom of speech and religion. We need to learn how to fail. It is not the failing that destroys, but how we handle the failure. Some people seem to be born winners. For most of us, failure will be a greater part of our lives than victory. The same is true of pain, both physical and emotional. Pain is inevitable. The more we love and are involved with other people, the more pain we will have. The joy and love that comes from these relationships are the roses among the thorns. As we age, physical pain is inevitable. We can decide if the pain rules us or we rule the pain. Pain is a thorn, but if we rise above it, the roses there are sweeter and more fragrant because of the price paid for them. The pessimist looks at the flower garden and sees the weeds growing. He looks at the clouds and despairs that it is going to rain. Two people can live in the same world with the same set of circumstances: for one, it can be exciting, joyous and hopeful. For another, it is a sorrowful, limiting and painful one. Each can view a rose. One sees a rose with thorns. The other sees that the thorns have roses. Which do you see?