Rose story

The Flower

For some time I have had a person provide me with a rose
boutonniere to pin on the lapel of my suit every Sunday. Because
I always got a flower on Sunday morning, I really did not think
much of it. It was a nice gesture that I appreciated but it
became routine. One Sunday, however, what I considered ordinary
became very special.
As I was leaving the Sunday service a young man approached
me. He walked right up to me and said, "Sir, what are you going
to do with your flower?" At first I did not know what he was
talking about, but then I understood.
I said, "Do you mean this?" as I pointed to the rose pinned
to my coat.
He said, "Yes sir. I would like it if you are just going to
throw it away." At this point I smiled and gladly told him that
he could have my flower, casually asking him what he was going to
do with it. The little boy, who was probably less than 10 years
old, looked up at me and said, "Sir, I'm going to give it to my
granny. My mother and father got divorced last year. I was living
with my mother, but when she married again, she wanted me to live
with my father. I lived with him for a while, but he said I could
not stay, so he sent me to live with my grandmother. She is so
good to me. She cooks for me and takes care of me. She has been
so good to me that I want to give that pretty flower to her for
loving me."
When the little boy finished I could hardly speak. My eyes
filled with tears and I knew I had been touched in the depths of
my soul. I reached up and unpinned my flower. With the flower in
my hand, I looked at the boy and said, "Son, that is the nicest
thing I have ever heard, but you can't have this flower because
it's not enough. If you'll look in front of the pulpit, you'll
see a big bouquet of flowers. Different families buy them for the
church each week. Please take those flowers to your granny
because she deserves the very best."
If I hadn't been touched enough already, he made one last
statement and I will always cherish it. He said, "What a
wonderful day! I asked for one flower but got a beautiful
bouquet."

By Pastor John R. Ramsey

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