{"id":6133,"date":"2016-09-26T06:47:04","date_gmt":"2016-09-26T12:47:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/?p=6133"},"modified":"2016-09-26T06:47:04","modified_gmt":"2016-09-26T12:47:04","slug":"a-rosy-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/?p=6133","title":{"rendered":"A Rosy Journey"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I have had a super busy month or six weeks. I\u2019ve had things to accomplish at home and at work and sometimes they overlapped. I\u2019m still not out of the woods yet, there\u2019s still lots to do, but yesterday I took a break from everything.<\/p>\n

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\"rose-garden-collage\"<\/a>A friend at church mentioned that she had gone to the rose garden in Longmont and had enjoyed her time there. Without a moment\u2019s hesitation, I decided that\u2019s where I would head after church. I grabbed a bite to eat and took it to this precious gem of our local city. And I savored the sights and sounds and scents of this little park.<\/p>\n

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I walked each path and took in the beauty of these roses. It was obvious that it is the end of the season, but was amazed at the beauty that these blossoms still contained. Even in their last stages of life, some of these roses were so beautifully different from when they were a young bud. They showed experience and wear and tear. They had endured the elements of the world and had survived.<\/p>\n

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I was also amazed at the variety. I\u2019m usually drawn to yellow roses, but I couldn\u2019t help but take in the different colors of coral roses out there. They were beautiful! And then there are the roses that have definitely been genetically altered with their cool stripes. And they were so different from one another. Some had lots of petals that spread out while others were more traditional looking and very sleek. Some of the plants were bushy with thin stems while others had sturdier, straight stems.<\/p>\n

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I was a bit surprised to find that many of these roses didn\u2019t smell like anything. They were beautiful, but they had lost every bit of their scent. I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s because of the genetic stuff, but they were lacking what roses are supposed to have. A rosy scent! And then, oh, I\u2019d get a whiff of that scent. I thoroughly enjoyed those moments.<\/p>\n

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This garden is a memorial garden, so there are benches and trees and war memorials all around the garden with such sayings as, \u201cBlossomed on earth to bloom in heaven\u201d or \u201cLike a rose you were beautiful in life and people around you blossomed.\u201d What a legacy these people left.<\/p>\n

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And then, after my long walk, I sat. In the garden. With my Jesus. I sang to Him. I prayed to Him. I listened to Him. And I walked away from my time in the garden refreshed and rejuvenated. I might have to go by that special place more frequently.<\/p>\n

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So here are a few lessons I learned while walking through the rose garden:<\/p>\n