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.

Long read but well worth it.. beautiful story

this was great
i will never look
at another flower the same again.