A Rose Among Thorns
Life is a fascinating thing. I think what makes it so is the unpredictability, the moments and times that throw us for a loop or catch us off guard. It's especially interesting to reflect on times of trial. My life over the last few months has certainly been tumultuous. Lots of things have been going on and taking place that haven't been very good. However, as I'm sitting in this difficult period and thinking and praying about it all, I have noticed two key things.
1) The good things in life are made better when they come during times of struggle. Think about this: do we appreciate the beauty of a single flower more when it's in a blooming garden or when it's surrounded by weeds and thorns? A single rose is far more alluring when it is the only one on a thorn bush than when it's in a bouquet.
The program I'm in required that I take a class which I wasn't very happy about taking. It met 8 hours a week and easily had another 5 in outside work to be done. I went into it with a git'r'done attitude, but not exactly a positive one. I ended up sitting next to a woman who has since become one of my dearest friends. I was not expecting that at all. Like, at all. She is such a blessing to my life, and honestly I can't imagine it without her now.
Other events and road blocks that have come into my life are hard. But another flower that has really bloomed during this time is my relationship with my parents and my now fiancé (yep, Jordan and I are engaged!!!). I've really been able to lean on them during all of this, and they remind me what it is to have total faith in God, especially when life is hard. I have gotten even closer to my parents than I was already, and Jordan and I are continuing to lay a strong foundation for our marriage; our hearts grow closer all the time.
Speaking of being engaged, God knew when the time to take the next step in our relationship should be, and He placed it in a time where I am able to appreciate it more than if life was perfect. Now with wedding planning I have something very exciting to do when I want to procrastinate on my homework! ;) Walking through these difficulties together is also training us for marriage, because no matter what the romance novels say, marriage is not easy. Relationships in general aren't easy, but that's a topic for another day.
2) Trusting God is not an option, it's a necessity. I went to Confession recently, and my priest asked me what I thought I should work on, based on what I confessed. I told him that trusting the Lord has been really difficult lately, so that's what I need to put effort into fixing.
Trusting in the Lord can be extremely hard, especially because as humans we can't see the big picture and fully understand that what we're going through now is only temporary. Life itself is only temporary! I am completely aware of my shortcomings in this area, particularly lately. There was a big test that I studied really hard and prayed my butt off for, and I ended up not passing. Needless to say, I was furious, upset, disappointed, and baffled that God would allow me to do that when I asked Him to help me. How DARE He do such a thing!? Well, He dared. And it's all good; His plan is always best. Reflecting on it all, I realize that even as I prayed, I didn't fully trust that God would answer my prayer. After I received my grade, it took me a long time to trust that He even wants me to be a nurse! It was like a negativity bomb exploded in my brain.
God always has our best interests in mind! And just because one point in the grand scheme of things doesn't go like we planned doesn't mean that everything goes out the window. In fact, the greatest people who ever lived (namely, the saints) had the most difficult obstacles to overcome to reach their goals. But they did it!
Not passing that test was a major lesson in humility that I needed to learn. It wasn't just a lesson in humility, though. It is also another step in the ongoing lesson of trusting in God and how He has everything in our lives working for our good. God never desires anything bad or difficult for us; He seeks only good! Sometimes what that means is turning something terrible into a more amazing blessing than we could have ever dreamed. And that blessing just might come as a rose among thorns.
1) The good things in life are made better when they come during times of struggle. Think about this: do we appreciate the beauty of a single flower more when it's in a blooming garden or when it's surrounded by weeds and thorns? A single rose is far more alluring when it is the only one on a thorn bush than when it's in a bouquet.
The program I'm in required that I take a class which I wasn't very happy about taking. It met 8 hours a week and easily had another 5 in outside work to be done. I went into it with a git'r'done attitude, but not exactly a positive one. I ended up sitting next to a woman who has since become one of my dearest friends. I was not expecting that at all. Like, at all. She is such a blessing to my life, and honestly I can't imagine it without her now.
Other events and road blocks that have come into my life are hard. But another flower that has really bloomed during this time is my relationship with my parents and my now fiancé (yep, Jordan and I are engaged!!!). I've really been able to lean on them during all of this, and they remind me what it is to have total faith in God, especially when life is hard. I have gotten even closer to my parents than I was already, and Jordan and I are continuing to lay a strong foundation for our marriage; our hearts grow closer all the time.
Speaking of being engaged, God knew when the time to take the next step in our relationship should be, and He placed it in a time where I am able to appreciate it more than if life was perfect. Now with wedding planning I have something very exciting to do when I want to procrastinate on my homework! ;) Walking through these difficulties together is also training us for marriage, because no matter what the romance novels say, marriage is not easy. Relationships in general aren't easy, but that's a topic for another day.
2) Trusting God is not an option, it's a necessity. I went to Confession recently, and my priest asked me what I thought I should work on, based on what I confessed. I told him that trusting the Lord has been really difficult lately, so that's what I need to put effort into fixing.
Trusting in the Lord can be extremely hard, especially because as humans we can't see the big picture and fully understand that what we're going through now is only temporary. Life itself is only temporary! I am completely aware of my shortcomings in this area, particularly lately. There was a big test that I studied really hard and prayed my butt off for, and I ended up not passing. Needless to say, I was furious, upset, disappointed, and baffled that God would allow me to do that when I asked Him to help me. How DARE He do such a thing!? Well, He dared. And it's all good; His plan is always best. Reflecting on it all, I realize that even as I prayed, I didn't fully trust that God would answer my prayer. After I received my grade, it took me a long time to trust that He even wants me to be a nurse! It was like a negativity bomb exploded in my brain.
God always has our best interests in mind! And just because one point in the grand scheme of things doesn't go like we planned doesn't mean that everything goes out the window. In fact, the greatest people who ever lived (namely, the saints) had the most difficult obstacles to overcome to reach their goals. But they did it!
Not passing that test was a major lesson in humility that I needed to learn. It wasn't just a lesson in humility, though. It is also another step in the ongoing lesson of trusting in God and how He has everything in our lives working for our good. God never desires anything bad or difficult for us; He seeks only good! Sometimes what that means is turning something terrible into a more amazing blessing than we could have ever dreamed. And that blessing just might come as a rose among thorns.
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