How is the intentional gratitude going this week? Are you doing well? Have you been purposefully showing gratitude and kindness to the people around you?
The idea of gratitude brought to my mind the phrase "coming up roses". I'm sure you may be asking yourself what this has to do with gratitude. Let me share my thoughts.
I love roses. They're beautiful. The smell of fresh roses is something that cannot be replicated. The sight of a bunch of living roses bring a smile to the face, a pleasant memory, happiness to someone who may need cheering up. Nothing compares to a rose; it does, after all, smell as sweet even if it is called by another name.
Have you ever smelled roses that have been cut from the bush? Seen them? They smell and look beautiful for a brief while. The "look" like live roses. But after a day or two they start to turn and the smell becomes sickening. The beauty quickly turns to rotten ugliness.
This week I have realized that gratitude is like roses. When we are truly grateful in the name of our Lord and in an effort to bring glory to Him, we can bring a smile to a stranger's face. We can make the lives of those we love a little brighter when we offer acts of unexpected kindness. When we offer false gratitude or extend half-hearted that kindnesses we start to stink, like rotting roses. We "look" like we're grateful but when we've been detached from the vine there is no true life left in us.
Is gratitude really is coming up roses? I think so. The question for you today is: do you bring life or rottenness? The choice is yours: choose your roses wisely.
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