Do we notice the thorns or the rose first?

This was a beautiful story. How easy it is to see or talk about the thorns that others have, instead of all their beautiful qualities. What a great reminder, to look paste the thorns, and see the real beauty within! Enjoy!

The Rose With Thorns

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?"

Saddened 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.

Our duty in this world is to help others by showing them their roses and not their thorns. Only then can we achieve the love we should feel for each other; only then can we bloom in our own garden.
- Unknown

"Won't you come into the garden?  I would like my roses to see you."  ~Richard Brinsley Sheridan

 

"Helping others' confidence is the greatest gift anyone can give... a sincere,
well deserved compliment has greater purchasing power than money."
- Rev Dale Turner

Believing in yourself

Why is it so easy to doubt ourselves, and yet so hard to believe in ourselves? Maybe because we forget that we are here on earth, to learn, grow and many times, that can only come through personally challenges and experiences that God designed especially for us! I have studied a lot on this subject, because it is one that I find myself struggling with often. I feel like some times it is always an uphill climb, when it comes to conquering fears and doubts about myself. I love the quote... “ Through self-doubt, we lose our sense of self-worth." That is so true, when doubt and fear become so strong, then it seems to paralyze us and we can't continue to progress or move on.

As I read my scriptures today, I just looked up things that  reminded me of my self worth. Things that the Lord wanted written down in the scriptures, to remind us for this very purpose. The trick is ...we have to read them and ponder and pray about them, to get the real effect, I believe! Here are some that I found that reminded me of this topic.... Psalms 8:5, Isaiah 13:12, Matthew 18:11, Luke 9:56, John 3:16. I sure there are many more, but these all reaffirmed to me, the importance and worth of a soul to God. How much more important is it that we understand that about ourselves? I hope we will be able to try and remember that Life is Hard, but it is soooooooooooooo worth it! And so are we!!!

  " The greatest achievement was at first for a time a dream. The oak sleeps in the acorn, the bird waits in the egg, and in the highest vision of the soul a waking angel stirs. Dreams are the seedling of realities."                  ~James Allen

 

Nothing to Fear

There's nothing to fear --- you're as good as the best,
As strong as the mightiest, too.
You can win in every battle or test;
For there's no one just like you.
There's only one you in the world today;
So nobody else, you see,
Can do your work in as fine a way:
You're the only you there'll be !

So face the world, and all life is yours
To conquer and love and live:
And you'll find the happiness that endures
In just the measure you give;
There's nothing too good for you to possess,
Nor heights where you cannot go:
Your power is more than belief or guess ---
It is something you have to know.

There is nothing to fear --- you can and you will.
For you are the invincible you.
Set your foot on the highest hill ---
There's nothing you cannot do.

-- Author Unknown

"All that a man achieves and all that he fails to achieve is the direct result of his own thoughts"                   ~ James Allen