Walking along life's winding pathway I was feeling lonely, so I raised my eyes toward heaven and asked God "Why must I travel this path alone? Is there no woman in this world to love me? Am I to live my entire life, from birth until my death, never knowing what it is like to be truly loved, and wanted?".

Suddenly, before me appeared a large garden of flowers in full bloom. There were Tulips and Daffodils, Crocuses, Dandelions, and Marigolds. Flowers of every imaginable size and shape were there, some that was pleasing to the eye, and some that were not. God spoke to me, saying "Each of these flowers represent a lonely woman. If you could have any one of these, which would you choose?".

I walked through the garden, looking at all of the various types of flowers on display. There was one especially magnificent flower with such grace and exquisite beauty, that I found myself walking back to look at it many times. It was a gorgeous Rose, it's petals were soft and delicate, and of the purest white, with just a tinge of red at the tip of each fragile petal.

I wanted to reach out and touch it, to smell its intoxicating fragrance, and savor it's stunning splendor, but looking around me, I noticed there were other men there, looking for love, also. There were rich men, muscular men, and men far more handsome than I. Surely this Rose was meant for one of them, and not for such as I. And so I would move on, and yet, I always found myself drawn back to the magnificence of this one Rose.

Each time, I would stand there and look at it, but I was afraid to reach out to such awesome beauty, so I would spend a few moments dreaming, and wishing, before I moved on to continue my search. Eventually, I tired of my search, and asked God "There are many sweet, wonderful flowers here, but one of exceptional beauty is that Rose. It's grace and elegance outshines all of the other flowers. It is absolutely the most perfect Rose I have ever seen. Is that the flower for me? Will you allow me to hold it close to my heart, forever?".

God replied "That Rose I cannot give to you, my son, for such exquisite beauty as that Rose possesses, cannot be chosen by man. The fragrance of love that it generates requires constant attention and tender nourishment. In the hands of the wrong man, it would just wither and die. Therefore, the Rose must choose the hand that it wishes to hold it close. A man must possess qualities worthy of the Rose, before the Rose will choose to send it's heavenly fragrance his way. The Rose will not be easily swayed or deceived by appearances. If you wish to hold the Rose, then you must let the Rose see the truth, and then, perhaps, the Rose will choose you."

Puzzled, I went back to stand before the Rose, and thought about what God said. What qualities would the Rose require a man to possess? Surely the Rose would want a rich, handsome, muscular man. Being but a plain and simple man, what qualities would I have, that would interest the Rose? My best qualities were on the inside, where the Rose could not see, or feel, without spending the time to get to know me. And with so many others available, that could attract her attention, it was not likely that I would get the chance to spend enough time with her, for her to see what was in my heart, and my soul.

Being weary from my long, hard journey, I sat down, and facing the Rose, I thought about what I could offer the Rose. If the Rose chose me to hold her close, there would be no mansion on a hill, no crystal chandeliers. I could not take her on fancy whirlwind tours of the world, nor could I spend a lot of money buying her expensive, fancy gifts.

The best I could offer such exquisite beauty, was promises. My promise to give her all of my love, each and every day. My promise to take time out of each and every day, to spend time with her, letting her know that she was special, to me. My promise to do the best I could to put a smile on her face every day. My promise to treat her with the respect and dignity, the love and kindness, that she deserves.

Knowing that I could not be content with any of the other flowers, once I had seen the Rose, I continued to study the Rose. The petals were gorgeous, very fragile, and yet, the vine the bloom was attached to was very sturdy looking. The Rose had obviously weathered some troubling times, and yet had not allowed those trials to mar it's beauty. I thought, what strength of character the Rose is showing. Surely that is what the Rose would require in a man. The strength of character to weather adversity, to stand strong, and tall, and straight, and yet be gentle and flexible enough to be able to show tenderness, and love. That must be what God meant, when he said that the Rose would not be easily swayed or deceived by appearances.

Perhaps, in spite of not being rich, or muscular, or handsome, I did stand a chance at some day holding the Rose. Perhaps, if the Rose would give me the chance to talk to the Rose often, if I were able to spend enough time with the Rose, the Rose would see that inside of this plain and simple man was the heart and soul of a good man, and the Rose would consider me worthy of the heavenly fragrance of her sweet love.

I bent down and picked up my heavy burden, and, placing it on my shoulders, I, turned around, and walked out of the garden, away from the Rose, determined that, after I was free of the burden that for now I must carry just a little longer, I would return to the garden, to see if the most magnificent Rose in the world would allow me to tenderly hold her precious love within my heart for all eternity.

This morning, I decided that something was missing in my life, something just was not right. After studying on it for a bit, I decided that what was missing, was a houseplant, one that would brighten things up, make me smile each day at it's grace, and beauty. Not being very experienced when it comes to flowering plants, I was unsure as to what type of plant I should choose. So, I went to the florist and asked him as to which plant would be the best choice for me. He told me he could not answer that, because it depended on various factors, such as what I expected from the plant, how much time and effort I was willing to invest in the plant, and how much space I was willing to give the plant to allow it to grow. He explained to me that each plant had it's own unique personality, and therefore each plant had different requirements as to the type and quality of love and care that was needed for the plant to achieve its full potential, allowing it to blossom into a gorgeous flower.

I asked the florist if he would show me what flowers he had on display, and he answered that he did not actually grow the plants himself. He told me that each plant started out as a seedling, and that it depended on the quality of the love and care that was provided by the caregiver that the plant was entrusted to, as to to what type of plant was produced. He said he did have some sample pictures he could show me, and pulled out a few of them. He showed me the picture of a thorny cactus plant with a small, but pretty flower growing, and explained that the cactus was grown by someone who did not care to spend much time with their plant, did not care much as to the size and beauty of the flower it produced. Because the caregiver had neglected and abused the plant, the plant had grown a thick skin, with thorns, to protect itself. He then showed me a picture of a plant that was growing into a bush, reaching out in many different directions. Each branch of the bush had a really magnificent flower on the end. The florist explained to me that the owner of that plant had given the plant a lot of tender, loving care, and had taken the time to give the plant the nourishment, encouragement, and support that the plant needed, in order to grow and blossom in every direction that the plant branched out.

I told the florist that I wanted a seedling that would produce a plant like the magnificent flowering bush. He patiently explained to me that all he could do, was to entrust in my care a seedling, and that from there, it would be up to me as to what grew. I asked him if he could provide me with simple directions for growing a plant as magnificent as the bush I saw in the picture. These are the directions he gave me.

Seven steps to growing a magnificent flowering bush:

1) Plant the seedling in good ground, and the plant will firmly anchor itself, as it's roots grow and spread out - the more room you give it, the more it will grow

2) See to it that plant receives constant sunshine and warmth, with just enough rain to help make it sturdy - do not shelter it in a tightly enclosed environment

3) Take time throughout each day to talk to the plant in a loving way, and to listen to the plant, as it grows - a little fertilizer goes a long way, and too much kills

4) As the plant reaches out in different directions, encourage it, support it, be proud of it, in each of it's endeavors - it will reward you with many beautiful blooms

5) Be understanding, if a branch does not grow in the direction you wish, allow the plant to develope a mind of it's own - this is necessary for mature growth

6) Constantly touch the plant in different places, with a gentle, tender, massaging touch - this will stimulate the plant, and help it to grow into a vibrant, radiant plant

7) Keep the trash out of your life, provide a happy, healthy, loving home for your plant, and your plant will provide you with many years of heartwarming pleasure.

TIP: Strive daily to maintain the proper balance of love, care, support, nourishment, and attention, with the proper amount of space and freedom to expand, so that your plant can grow to it's maximum potential. Too much of any one ingredient can can cause an adverse affect to the growth of your plant.

Caution: Do not neglect the needs of your plant, abuse it, or place it in a cold atmosphere, even for a day - the plant may wither and die, or another man may come and steal your plant. Do not treat your plant as a possession, or an ornament, but as an important, vital part of your daily life - your plant will notice the difference, and respond accordingly.

Some of the things a man loves about a woman

To be able to sit at a kitchen table, and talk to her, watching her, as she goes to the trouble of making a meal from scratch, just for him.

To be able to walk up behind her, wrap his arms around her, and stand there cheek to cheek, feeling her lean back against him, knowing she wants to be there, in his arms.

To be able to hand her a flower, and watch her smile every time she looks at it, because she knows it is a symbol of the love he feels for her.

To see the look of delight on her face, when he has done something he hopes will please her, for then he knows that he has succeeded, and made her happy.

To be able to go to sleep at night, holding her close, knowing she will be there in the morning, and not disappear when the sun comes up, as dreams do. Knowing that her beautiful face will be the first thing he sees, when he wakes up.

To be able to wake up in the middle of the night, and watch her as she sleeps, while he marvels that someone so sweet and precious could love him. To be able to gently caress her cheek, and arm, not wanting to wake her, just wanting to touch Heaven.

To be able to talk to her of things important, and things not so important, to be able to laugh with her over silly things.

To watch a smile spread across her face, when she catches him watching her, as she does the things a woman does.

To see the tears of love she sheds for him, when she has had a really bad day, and she comes home to find he has prepared a candlelight supper, with her favorite meal, just because he loves her.

To have her reach for his hand, intertwining her fingers with his, as they walk side by side, to have her scoot over close beside him, when they get in a car together, and to have her snuggle into his arms when they are sitting on a couch or chair, for then he knows she loves him.

To be able to reach out to her with a look, or a touch, or a phone call, any time, day or night, and know she is there for him, by his side, forever.

CATBW56: This is a beautiful area, and I am hoping to find a woman that loves nature enough to explore it with me. I am so tired of seeing natures beauty alone. I have discovered a lot of creeks, waterfalls, hilltops with a magnificent view, meadows with wild flowers growing, sure would be nice to have someone to share the experience of these discoveries.

Do not give up, Ladies, do not despair. Somewhere out there is a man that would love to call you their Angel, but if you give up before he finds you, or before you find him, then the two of you will continue to be lonely.

I just joined this site a few days ago, just looked at your profiles today. I do not live close to any of you, but what if I did? What if I were the one for you, but you closed your profile even just one day before I joined? I would not have had the pleasure of seeing your picture. How sad.

Never give up your dream of being loved. Look at it this way: what makes the right person special to us, is the fact that we realize just how rare that person is, and how difficult it was to find them.

I think our past experiences has caused us to perhaps set our goal too high. You might ask yourself, "Have I perhaps set my sights too high, wanting too much from a mere mortal man?" We look at a picture, and say "Not for me" or "Pass" or "Next, please". When we meet, it seems the common expectation is to experience fireworks in five minutes or less. Are we really giving the other person a fair chance to show that they are what we are looking for? Or what we can live with / tolerate?

I have no idea what my Angel looks like, not going to limit myself in that way. I do not know where she lives, or what she is like. I just know that when we meet, or perhaps after talking and spending time together, we will grow on each other. I will build my world around her, instead of expecting her to fit into my world, or into my dreams. I will accept her as she is. After all, at our age, we are who we are, and not likely to change in any drastic way.

I wish you all the best of luck in finding your happiness quickly, but if you do not find it quickly, please, do not despair and give up. Somewhere out there is a lonely man looking for you.