This week I learned that you cannot buy roses with their thorns still on. All the roses for sale everywhere had been de-thorned, something I discovered on Saturday after I had planned our Bridging Ritual for high school seniors around the concept of giving them a rose with the thorns on "because we know we cannot protect you from the thorns of life anymore, but we're confident you are ready to deal with life as it is - the blooms and the thorns".
What to do if I couldn't find the roses with thorns? Fortunately I did find four decent blooms on a rosebush in my garden, so we used my roses for the ritual.
This week I also supervised childcare for a huge memorial service for a young woman, one whose family has been part of our church since the daughters were teens. It has been a deeply sad time for our congregation, and even though I did not know this adult daughter I felt the sadness and compassion in the air.
And then I was called upon to change several very dirty diapers, and as I performed that necessary task, I was struck by how incredibly life-affirming that felt. Here is life, in all its mess and realism.
Life comes with many sides: blooms, thorns, sadness, compassion, messes, birth, death, love, loss, hope, despair. Being part of a loving church community means more life, and more of a look at life as it is.
Our DRE had a bit more luck on the thorn front. Prior to the bridging, he turned to the congregation and said with a smile, "The florist informs me that orange roses have the biggest thorns." He then handed them orange roses that had stems about a foot or so long. It's quite the metaphor.
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