The Beauty of the Rose

That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet -  William Shakespeare
 
Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose -  Gertrude Stein

I love roses!  I always have since childhood.  My grandmother Thyra smelled like a rose.  I am sure it was her hand lotion located on the top of the high dresser that she used on a regular basis.  That is where she kept all of her treasures.  The crystal looking necklaces of all colors with matching earrings and her case of make up which I experimented with every time I was at her house.  I wonder if she ever knew I got into her stuff.  Was it the pink coloring on my cheeks or the scattered pink spots on the white starched crocheted runner on the top of the dresser that gave me away?  I will say that it was the light pink cream that I enjoyed the most.  I would put it on my hands, rub it in and hold my hands to my nose, breathing deeply to smell  roses.  So comforting!  It was the smell of my grandmother Thyra.
 
Something with inner beauty will live forever, like the scent of a rose -  Alex Flinn
 
I may have mentioned before, but my grandmother was a master gardener.  She belonged to the local horticulture/gardening club and love to talk about all of her flowers.  She was intentional with planting and had multiple beds of beautiful blooming flowers.  It was as if living in a victorian era, we would stroll or “take a turn” though the garden area, viewing and talking about all of the flowers.  This was the place that I felt she really was herself relaxed and enjoying the beauty of creation.  I know she wanted to share her flowers with me but maybe she wanted the flowers to meet me.
 
Won't you come into the garden? I would like my roses to see you -  Richard B Sheridan
 
Every gardeners knows that what they enjoy of the garden does not magically appear.  It comes from time, sweat, hard work of pruning, sometimes tears, patience and God’s blessed rain.  This week, I had some opportunity to work in my garden.  My roses were long over due for pruning.  I am a little unconventional in my pruning time.  I begin in Feb/March and then as needed.  It has never stunted the growth of any of my roses but has encouraged them to bloom. I was reading an article in Real Gardens by Real Homes (By Camille Dubuis-Welch, Anna Cottrell published February 08, 2022) that presented some excellent reasons to prune.
 
1. Keeps the plant healthy. 
2. Promotes new growth, removing dead, broken or diseased cane.
3. Trains roses to desired shape.
4.  Pruning encourages flowering, either more blooms or larger blooms.
5. It is essential to keep modern rose varieties blooming repeatedly all summer long.
 
If I didn’t spend some time, my bushes would be “wild” lacking the potential of full blooms and beautiful presentation. Eventually, the focus would be come the canes, gray in color with obvious thorns.
 
Some people are always grumbling that roses have thorns. I am thankful that thorns have roses -  Alphonse Karr
 
As I thought about pruning, which I am a very aggressive pruner, hacking away the “unwanted” I thought of scripture, discussing pruning.
 
John 15:2-6 NAS
2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.
The concept of pruning originated with God.  Notes on the Bible by Barnes on this passage and specifically on pruning states that “God purifies all true Christians so that they may be more useful.  He takes away that which hindered their usefulness; teaches them, quickens them; revives them; makes them more pure in motive and life. This he does by the regular influences of his Spirit in sanctifying them, purifying their motives, teaching them the beauty of holiness, and inducing them to devote themselves more to him.  He does it by taking away what opposes their usefulness, however much they may be attached to it, or however painful to part with it; as a vine-dresser will often feel himself compelled to lop off a branch that is large, apparently thrifty, and handsome, but which bears no fruit, and which shades or injures those which do. So God often takes away the property of his people, their children or other idols.  He removes the objects which bind their affections, and which render them inactive.  He takes away the things around man, as he did the valued gourds of Jonah, Jon 4:5-11 so that he may feel his dependence, and live more to the honor of God and bring forth more proof of humble and active piety.”
 
God love us and wants us to live a life of “full bloom” bearing much fruit.  He is our vine-dresser and His wisdom “prunes” us.  God wants us to be healthy, to have new growth in our Christian life, removing what is dead, broke and diseased.  He trains our new growth to His desired shaping.  His pruning encourages us to bloom, with more fruit and even larger fruit not for our glory but for His Kingdom purposes. Pruning is essential to keep all of His people fruitful for all of their season of life.
 
If the rose is beautiful flower, it is also because it opens itself -  Charles De Leusse
 
The rose is a flower of love. The world has acclaimed it for centuries. Pink roses are for love hopeful and expectant. White roses are for love dead or forsaken, but the red roses, ah the red roses are for love triumphant -  unknown
 
Take time to smell the roses - Proverb
 
Embrace the pruning of the vine-dresser and be fruitful.
 
Blessings
Karen