I smell a sweetness
as I’ve never before.
So sweet this fragrance
that does allure.

‘Tis a rose it is –
but like I’ve never seen.
From this distance its
beauty is so serene.

This rose in all of it’s glory
Reminds me of an emotion
Of love so sweet and innocent
Before it’s set into motion.

As the radiant floral growth
Begins itself to mature
It forms painful thorns as
Does the feeling of amour.

Love can be beautiful from a far
And yet painful by and by.
It can prick if handled wrong
Then wither and just die.

Love is fragile like a rose and
Though the petals may wilt and fall,
When the plant still lives is when
You know if you’re in love at all.

“Love Like a Rose“, by Blair, November 25, 1991

I guess I was a hopeless romantic like most teenage girls.  And like most teenage girls, I discovered that what might appear to be love at first glance, probably isn't.  Once the newness and excitement wear off, you see the only thing drawing you to the relationship was fleeting, a facade.  I guess it's one of the reasons I value the way Erik and I met as much as I do.  If he could fall for me in shapeless BDU's, with my hair pulled back tighter than an old librarian, smelling like sweat from marching all the way to school and no make-up?  Well, he might be interested in more than my outward appearance.  Thankfully he was and now here we are almost 12 years later, our love still living.

I've been working on writing out my testimony lately and this poem even reminds me of that.  If you're a believer, there was something that attracted you to the Lord.  You gravitate towards His beauty knowing you want that in your life.  As you reach out to Him, your heart is pricked by the thorns He wore for you.  But the sweet fragrance of His sacrifice engulfs you and you become a child of God's.  When you experience trials all beauty seems to fade into a faint memory.  Your journey becomes labored but you trust that He lives just like the rose in the poem.  For you see, although we may walk through the valley of the shadow of death ...He still lives and He still loves us.

God's love is beautiful like that rose and sometimes painful like those thorns.  Has the budding newness of your walk with the Lord faded?  Are your petals wilting?  When we go through seasons of dryness and through trials, we must ask ourselves....does "The Plant" still live?  And indeed, He does!  Praise the Lord God Almighty, He does!

The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.
Psalm 18:46