Sunburn & Thorns

I was sharing prayer requests with a friend this week and I told her I was struggling with something. She told me she wished she could send me sunshine and roses. I commented that sunshine comes with sunburn and roses come with thorns, maybe I should put on my SPF and my gardening gloves and just get on with it. And then I thought about what I said. How sunny and beautiful my life really is, but I'm focusing on the thorns and sunburn. How often I think I’m in a bad place, when I’m really just dealing with the thorn of something very beautiful in my life. For example (a lighthearted example), Whitney is a rose in my life. She is beautiful. I could literally just sit and look at her for hours. But she’s 14, not a sleeping baby and it, in her words, is creepy. She’s fragrant. (NOT literally, she wore my tennis shoes to the Y the other day and I wouldn’t put them on for two days, I was afraid my feet might melt). By fragrant, I mean people are drawn to her, they love her. I walked down the hallway at church Sunday morning on our way out and 3 guys I’ve known for a long time, (in a church of 4000 people I can walk down the hallway and never see anyone I know) played volleyball with, socialize with, know their wives and kids, etc. were in the hallway. None of them spoke to me. Because they were all too busy smiling and speaking to Whitney, including one high five and one fist bump. But she’s a thorny little thing when she wants to be. I tell her to clean her room (her bedroom is a thorn all on its own) and I end up with two loads of laundry and a sink full of dishes. Attitude in the mornings. Thirty minute car rides where she never speaks. Just little thorns, nothing some good gloves can’t fix.
Steve is definitely sunshine in my life. Someone who loves me, and makes sure I know he does. He’s good to me, and he likes to spend time with me. He encourages me. He makes me a better person. But be careful standing to close to him, cause you can get sunburned. And do not look directly at him. (I make me laugh). I have so much to be thankful for. I am employed. Rose, right? Don’t always like everything about my job, it has some thorns. I have 3 dependable vehicles. Sunshine, most definitely. Flat tires, oil changes, there is some burn. Enough with the analogies, when I started looking for sunshine and roses, I found a lot of brightness and beauty in my life. And sometimes the trials I think I’m feeling come from these blessings. And I want the blessings. So here’s sending sunshine and roses your way, and a reminder to myself as well, don’t forget your SPF and gardening gloves.

Psalm 100:4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and a thank offering and into His courts with praise! Be thankful and say so to Him, bless and affectionately praise His name! (The Amplified Bible)