Wednesday, January 9, 2013

A Blue Rose


A Blue Rose ~*~ 

* Having four visiting family members, my wife was very busy, so I offered to go to the store for her to get some needed items, which included light bulbs, paper towels, trash bags, detergent and Clorox. So off I went.
* I scurried around the store, gathered up my goodies and headed for the checkout counter, only to be blocked in the narrow aisle by a young man who appeared to be about sixteen-years-old. I wasn't in a hurry, so I patiently waited for the boy to realize that I was there. This was when he waved his hands excitedly in the air and declared in a loud voice, "Mommy, I'm over here."
* It w as obvious now, he was mentally challenged and also startled as he turned and saw me standing so close to him, waiting to squeeze by. His eyes widened and surprise exploded on his face as I said, "Hey Buddy, what's your name?"
* "My name is Denny and I'm shopping with my mother," he responded proudly.
* "Wow," I said, "that's a cool name; I wish my name was Denny, but my name is Steve."
* "Steve, like Stevarino?" he asked. "Yes," I answered. "How old are you Denny?"
* "How old am I now, Mommy?" he asked his mother as she slowly came over from the next aisle.
* "You're fifteen-years-old Denny; now be a good boy and let the man pass by."
* I acknowledged her and continued to talk to Denny for several more minutes about summer, bicycles and school. I watched his brown eyes dance with excitement, because he was the centre of someone's attention. He then abruptly turned and headed toward the toy section.
* Denny's mom had a puzzled look on her face and thanked me for taking the time to talk with her son. She told me that most people wouldn't even look at him, much less talk to him.
* I told her that it was my pleasure and then I said something I have no idea where it came from, other than by the prompting of the Holy Spirit. I told her that there are plenty of red, yellow, and pink roses in God's Garden; however, "Blue Roses" are very rare and should be appreciated for their beauty and distinctiveness. You see, Denny is a Blue Rose and if someone doesn't stop and smell that rose with their heart and touch that rose with their kindness, then they've missed a blessing from God.
* She was silent for a second, then with a tear in her eye she asked, "Who are you?"
* Without thinking I said, "Oh, I'm probably just a dandelion, but I sure love living in God's garden."
She reached out, squeezed my hand and said, "God bless you!" and then I had tears in my eyes.
* May I suggest, the next time you see a BLUE ROSE, whichever differences that person may have, don't turn your head and walk off. Take the time to smile and say Hello. Why? What a difference a moment can mean to that person or their family.
* From an old dandelion! Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to the powers that be.



3 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is so beautiful. Yes, I'm in tears. Thank you John.

Anonymous said...

I too am in tears because I was blessed with one of Gods blue roses, my grandson was born Down Syndrome and Autistic he has been such comfort and joy. He is now 20 years old, when he was young he never wanted to be around groups of people, but we as a family never treated him any differently then all the other children in the family, if he was uncomfortable we allowed him to go off alone, but would take turns going to see if he were ready to join the group once again. I am not sure how it happened, but somewhere along the way, he stopped wandering off, now he likes being dead center of everything, and he takes his job in the family very seriously, he was born to make us laugh and not take life so seriously. Somehow he just knows and we never know what he is going to do to lighten things up, he may leave the room for a minute only to return with a bowl on his head or his fathers shoes on the wrong feet, or a musical toy blaring and him singing very loudly I might add. You guessed it before long everyone and I mean everyone is laughing, because our Blue Rose takes his job very seriously. Maybe just maybe all of us need to learn from God's blue Roses instead of being afraid of what we don't understand!

Anonymous said...

Dear Anonymous 10.40am,
Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful life story. You have been truly blessed. Thank you for making me cry again by sharing these heartfelt words. Much love to you and your precious Blue Rose.