Life Lessons are Best Taught with Stories

This is just one of the many paradoxes that I see working in my life today. I’m neither a theological scholar or expert in biblical teachings. I’m just a human being struggling daily with the weaknesses of character and spirit. I do rely on teachings and writings of those more learned than me. And, I do believe that there is a God…and it’s not me.

The paradox of ‘weakness is strength’ is beautifully shown in this parable:

Once upon a time there were two little rose buds. They grew, and grew, and grew. One had a very hard stalk and became, in blooming, a lovely well-formed rose. The other had a stalk that had been weakened and damaged by the weather and bruises. It, too, bloomed into a lovely rose.In fact, the bloom itself was far more beautiful than the other rose. It had a softness and a delicacy and an aroma about it which made it a strikingly beautiful rose.

The gardener came along. Attracted by the beauty and loveliness of this particular rose he came closer the better to see and admire its beauty. Then he noticed the weak stalk. He even saw brown patches on the stalk which he knew might soon spread into the bloom itself. So he got splint. And he wired the stalk, and he watered it carefully and pruned it. And then a terrible storm arose.

The rose with the healthy stalk was blown and battered by the wind and the rain. Soon the stalk broke and the rose fell heavily to the ground. In a very short time its petals shriveled and withered and turned brown. The rose was dead.

But the rose with the weakened stalk which had now strong, unbending splint to reinforce it, withstood the gale. And when the storm had passed and the sun began again to shine – almost perceptibly it turned its beautiful petals to the light and “smiled” more lovely than ever and with an aroma even more delicate than before the storm.

So, what happened? In its weakness it had found strength. On its own it would have been much less able to withstand the onslaught of the elements than its more hardy neighbor, but the master had, in its very weakness, given to it a protection and a strength not given to the healthy one.

What Do I Take From This?

That because I draw security and strength from my Creator I am much more secure than the one who is “on his own”. Because I am dependent on the incredibly strong power of Divinity, I can be strong and secure, while the one who is “on his own” draws strength only from himself – a weak position.

One more parable to illustrate:

The house built on sand and the house built on rocks. When the storms came and the wind blew the house on sand was destroyed; the house on the rocks remained intact. It was not on its own strong structure that saved the house on the rocks – it was the rocks.

How is my foundation today? Is it based on God/Creator or on my own weak character? These are important questions for someone like me, who is prone to self-centeredness and such independence that sometimes I forget to ask for help.

Just something to think about.