By Joseph M. Valenzano, Jr,, President & CEO EP
For those of you who subscribe to the new “political correctness” in the story and poem that follows, you can replace “God” with Allah or Buddha or the Great Spirit or whatever Supreme Being you believe in. It is the message that is most important and the message is intended to provide a gentle reminder that sometimes in life we just have to trust in a higher power. This story has been a part of my life for over for 58 years. It was given to me by Sister Helen, my fifth grade teacher at Blessed Sacrament Elementary School in New York City and it has been a source of inspiration and sanity in a sometimes tumultuous and confusing world. These days, I read it often and rely on it more and more every passing day. I hope and pray that it will hold meaning for you as well
A new minister was walking with an older, more seasoned minister in the garden one day. Feeling a bit insecure about what God’s plans were for him and what He had for him to do, he was asking the older preacher for some advice. The older preacher walked up to a rosebush and handed the young preacher a rosebud and told him to open it without tearing off any petals.
The young preacher looked in disbelief at the older preacher and was trying to figure out what a rosebud could possibly have to do with his wanting to know the will of God for his life and ministry. But because of his great respect for the older preacher, he proceeded to try to unfold the rose, while keeping every petal intact.
It wasn’t long before he realized how impossible this was to do.
Noticing the younger preacher’s inability to unfold the rosebud without tearing it, the older preacher began to recite the following poem…
“It is only a tiny rosebud,
A flower of God’s design;
But I cannot unfold the petals
With these clumsy hands of mine.”
“The secret of unfolding flowers
Is not known to such as I.
GOD opens this flower so easily,
But in my hands they seem to die.”
“If I cannot unfold a rosebud,
This flower of God’s design,
Then how can I have the wisdom
To unfold this life of mine?”
“So I’ll trust in God for leading
Each moment of my day.
I will look to God for guidance
In each step along the way.”
“The path that lies before me,
Only my Lord and Savior knows.
I’ll trust God to unfold the moments,
Just as He unfolds the rose.”
Author unknown
Please share this story and poem with a friend or loved one if you enjoyed being reminded to let go…. and let God unfold your life. Keep it close. It has served me well for many years
Treasure each day. There is little we can do about yesterday except learn from it; it is history. Tomorrow is the future and remains an unknown. Today is a gift, that is why it is called the present. God bless
