setup: [E-Mail Ministry] Roses and Thorns

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ROSES AND 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 and also
the thorns. 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 grow 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 knowing his faults, recognize the nobility in
his soul, and help him realize that he can overcome his faults. If we show
him the rose, he will conquer the thorns.

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.

-- Author Unknown

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