There are few things as beautiful as a perfect rosebud, softly fragrant and nearly ready to blossom. It is the promise of greater beauty, of more lovely fragrance yet to come, but the only one who can unfold the petals of the rose and reveal its heart is the One who created it, and in His wisdom, He unfolds the petals one at a time.
I picked up the Heart of A Rose at a recommendation of a friend, and had no idea what it was really about until I opened the cover. It’s such a tiny little book, but it contains a story that contains a double encouragement for real heart purity for both young women and young men, and encouragement to wait on God and His perfect time to reveal the heart of love’s rose.
It’s an old fashioned one, and while it is thought provoking in more ways than one, it was the story of the rose that struck at my heart in such a way that I never forgot it. For, like the roses, our hearts unfold their petals best when left to the will of the One who created them.
It tells a little story of youth, and the awakening of new and different thoughts and feelings in the heart, and in a unique way, warns of the danger of choosing our impulses and desires to experiment with love and before the time is right, and compares the damage done by “forcing open the petals of the rose” and playing around with the heart and the God-given ability and desire to love “just for fun” to crushing the petals on a rose not yet ready to blossom, scaring it for the rest of its life.
It may seem fun to get and give attention, it might look innocent, but the crushed petals mar the beauty of the rose when it has finally opened, and while not always destroyed and while still beautiful, the rose will always bear the scars of carelessness and never be fully what God intended.
No one wants crushed petals, bruised and broken by attempts to make the rose open a little more quickly or to try out what everyone else seems to find no harm in. While pain cannot always be avoided, and often comes hand in hand with love, the beauty of waiting until the rose has opened its heart in that perfect time is more than worth waiting for.
Waiting is one of the hardest things that God asks us to do, but love in God’s time can not be compared to anything else. In my experience, the rose of love only grows sweeter, lovelier and more precious in God’s time.
No matter how young or old you are, read the story of the Heart of a Rose, and make the commitment to wait and to let Him open the heart of your rose.
This little book by Mabel A. McKee is a reprint from an older book, and isn’t available too many places. In fact, the only place I could find to order it new online is through “The Young Advent Pilgrim’s” online store. Or, you can read it online for free at The Project Gutenberg. The fresh expression of an old idea is told in such a sweet, simple way that it is definitely a book worth having, reading and sharing.
That was a beautiful story! Thank you so much for sharing. . .
Sounds like a beautiful little book; one worth reading over and over again
I might just have to find a copy somewhere…
Thanks!
I went right away to read this story online, and sat entranced for the entire ten minutes it took me to read it. I’ve read similar works over the years about the concept of a girl’s heart being a rose; however, this was the first story which so eloquently combined everything, and more, that I’ve read. I read aloud to myself the section where the sister is speaking to her brother about “going in to the garden.” (I don’t want to give too much away for those who’ve not read it yet) but I am very impressed.
As a young single lady, I help guide and mentor the high school-age girls in my church, and was just asked to teach a girl’s session at a Christian retreat we have every spring for our youth. I still need to figure out exactly what I’m going to teach on, but I knew immediately that I wanted to share this tidbit about “going in to the garden.”
As a Christian society, we continue to stray everyday from the standards we used to hold so highly in the area of relationships. Because this is such a gradual shift, we think nothing of it. However, God remains the same and His commandments never change. This little book showed me again why I am holding my own standards so high, and encouraged me to never let go of my personal convictions regarding relationships. Thank you so much for sharing this awesome story!
Thank you so much Chantel for introducing us tot his book, I really feel I need to find and read this book soon. It might just help my perspective a little! =) And I know I need the encouragement.