A November Rose

I thought I would share something I learned this week while searching for an object lesson to go along with my RS lesson on "Standing Fast through the Storms of Life". I loved the comparison using roses but wondered all week how I would find a true garden rose given that it has been below freezing quite consistently here. I was grateful today when I realized my neighbor had several surviving roses in her yard. Grateful again when she agreed to let me have a few roses for my lesson. Here is the object lesson:

Roses that are grown in a greenhouse are very beautiful but their scent is weak. Why is that?

Greenhouse roses don't have to develop a heavy scent to attract bees in order to flourish. They are fed, watered, and watched over by the gardener, all in ideal conditions.

Outdoor roses face much harsher conditions: wind, rain, cold, heat, and bugs. Outside, roses must develop the strong rose scent in order to attract the bees. Roses raised out of doors are both beautiful to see and to smell. If we lived under perfect conditions without the storms of life, we would not develop our "scents" as best as we might have, had we been strengthened through adversity. It is those who are tempered in the heat of the Lord's oven of adversity who develop a beautiful "scent". They bring joy and gladness to all around them and are beautiful spiritually.

It is so true! I have the outdoor rose and beautiful rose that I purchased (one that has obviously been grown in a greenhouse). Hands down... the scent of the outdoor rose is much stronger. Next year I will be planting a rose bush or two!