Roses: Why You Shouldn’t Cling to What isn’t Yours

Mood Music: Rambling Rose by Nat King Cole

I love roses. I like receiving them as a gift for any occasion. They are like my life’s sign and every time I see one or hear the word something beautiful and unexpected happens.

I buy myself roses sometimes, because they are a quick way to brighten my day. I put them in a special place so that I can see them often.

I like to sniff them and touch them. I could stare at them for long periods of time, but there always comes the inevitable. Eventually my beautiful roses die.

No matter how quickly I put them into a vase, no matter how I add that little packet of powder to the water, no matter how much sunlight- my roses die.

My roses die, because they are removed from their natural environment, the place they were created to thrive. In my selfishness, I pick them and they fade.

So what’s with this long soliloquy about roses you wonder? What If I told you that some of the people you have chosen to be in your life or the people that you desire to be there are like my beloved roses?

People as Roses 

Life is like a garden and people are the flowers that season it. This illustration appears several times in the Bible, and it’s a metaphor that I really like.

In any garden, there are those flowers that you kindna like, those that you may strongly dislike, and then there are the Roses.

Roses are people who are beautiful from the inside out, they are the face of an angel in your eyes. Roses are alluring, so alluring that the desire to pick them is strong.

As humans, we have a problem with possession. We have a hard time just loving or admiring a thing or person from a far. Human flesh is plagued with the desire to make various people their own through proprietorship.

Sometimes it’s the co-worker or gym buddy that you have a great time with during work or a workout sessions and desire to bring the friendship home.

Maybe it’s a beautiful woman or man that seems so right for you and you would like to make them yours with a romantic partnership.

The urge to pick these Roses can overtake you and before long you may possess them. However the trend you will notice often is things are not the same with your relationship once you “pick” a Rose, especially when you desire the Rose more than they desire you.

The Dangers of Picking a Rose 

A Rose will share with you the same beauty they had before your possession, momentarily, but before long these Roses start to slowly wither.

On their part, there will be moments of irritability, argumentativeness, frustration and sadness as they lone for freedom.

On your part, there will be bouts of melancholy, because the relationship is not what you expected or what it was before possession.

You can water the Rose with kind words and lavish gifts. Be his or her sunlight with warmth and compassion, but nothing can stop the passion fading from the Rose.

There will be embitterment as the relationship drains the Rose of what made it initially appealing.

How to Fix the Situation 

So what can you do when you recognize that you have picked a Rose? The best thing one can do is replant the rose back into its natural environment by letting him or her go.

The thing about Roses is that they will eventually be picked by the right person who can care for them in a way in which  they will thrive.

Your Own Rose 

The happy ending for you is a Rose personality will eventual come into your life without force. He or she will be gifted to you by God, and add beauty to your life in ways you could have ever dreamed imaginable.

Romance and friendship should never be forced. God will lead you to a person and everything just falls into place.

You don’t have to go into life’s garden with your little shovel and fine expectations. You will meet someone, someday that you just can say “Hi” to and they will reveal to you the secrets of time by becoming a life-long friend or partner.

Don’t Force it

When it’s real it feels right. When it’s one-sided adoration it is contrived. True love isn’t about possession, it is about letting the petals fall where they may and letting destiny take care of the rest.