The Rosebud

This is an old story & poem that is relevant, to me - and to all of us, really - every day:

The Rosebud

A young, new preacher was walking with an older, more seasoned preacher in the garden one day. Feeling a bit insecure about what God had for him to do, he was asking the older preacher for some advice.

The older preacher walked up to a rose bush 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 petal
With these clumsy hands of mine.
The secret of unfolding flowers
Is not known to such as I.
GOD opens this flower so sweetly,
Then in my hands they 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 Him for leading
Each moment of my day.

I will look to Him for His guidance
Each step of the pilgrim way.

The pathway that lies before me
Only my Heavenly Father knows.
I'll trust Him to unfold the moments,
Just as He unfolds the rose.

A Fish Out of Water

I know a couple of things. I do. I believe in God, in Jesus and in Salvation. From 30 years of Bible study, that's pretty much all the truth I have.

I don't know how to connect with God. I don't know if he's listening. I don't know what he cares about - does he care about the small things? All things? I've heard preaching on both.

And that's the thing. After many years in Church and Shul, hearing opposing viewpoints on major scriptural passages and having studied the Bible, it's hard to know who or what to believe. Whose interpretation is correct? I'm not so arrogant as to choose my own interpretation as truth - but in the end, that's really all we have. We have what WE believe to be true We may be wrong. We may be right. But we can only believe what we believe.

So, here I am - and I doubt I'm alone - wandering through the desert of sand and mirages of mirrored faith, hiking through the mountains of solid trees who proclaim their branches reach the highest to Heaven, coughing and spitting up the various different projections, opinions,visions, instruction, demands, rabbit trails, lectures, admonishments, damnations. A fish out of water.