One day I took a tender rose and plucked it from its bush.
I clumsily pulled its petals back for I was in a rush
To see its bounteous beauty before its time had come
To develop its own splendor to full blossom from a bud.
I stood there with the rose in hand, now ruined by my haste.
I cried to know that my impatience had brought such horrid waste.
“Can I put it back together and try again?” I asked.
But the petals just kept falling for the rose’s glory had passed.
Next morning I went out and gently picked another rose.
This time I held it carefully and brought it into the house.
I trimmed its stem and gingerly put the flower into a vase.
I tenderly set it in the sun and then waited a few days.
When I came back I saw the rose bursting with such hue.
Its petals were enormous and its fragrance was perfume.
For several days thereafter that, my flower stayed in bloom.
Its grandeur blessed my patience and also taught me a vital truth.
God blesses us with beauty but sometimes we have to wait.
Our rush to get it now oft meets the ruined rose’s fate.
It’s not always easy to hold back and let things grow.
But on the other side of patience stands a mature and lovely rose.
Michael Gifford