A Rose of Friendship

"The rose speaks of love silently, in a language known only to the heart."

- Unknown

This rose has a story to tell. 

It is a symbol of friendship. 

It is a symbol of God's grace.

It is a symbol of love. 

It is a symbol of healing. 

You may not see all of these symbols when you look at this delicate, porcelain rose, but I do. 

Let me tell you its story. 

The story begins years and years and years ago. There was young girl, Sarah Christen, who grew up living in Saudi Arabia. She was an American by birth. Her dad had taken a job working for a member of the Royal family and she spent several years of her life living abroad. 

At this same time, there was a young boy who grew up in the heart of Alabama. He was an only child. He lived in a small town that held all the quintessential charm of the South. His name, Garve III. His father was a very successful trial lawyer. The kind of lawyer that most people loved to despise --- until they needed a lawyer! This young boy learned early on that there were people who would be mad at him because of what his father did for a living. 

There was another young girl whose name was Joette. She too,  grew up in the same sleepy, Alabama town as Garve. She was one of those people who didn't really like the boy or his family because of his father. You see, Garve's father had filed lawsuits against her family and their family business over the years, and they were, understandably, hurt. 

Fast forward about 10 years. The young girl who grew up overseas and the boy had met and fallen in love. They married, and move to Garve's hometown. As they began to make friends, and establish a home together, Sarah Christen and Joette met. It was NOT a very warm meeting. In fact, it was in a court room! Sarah Christen had wanted to see her father-in-law in the courtroom, in action. The case was one where Garve's dad had sued Joette's family business, yet again. Joette glared and gave Sarah Christen the  "evil eyes"  in the courtroom that day. 

Several years later, Garve and Joette's husband had met. They had the same circle of friends. And both men were invited to bring their wives on a couples trip to Las Vegas for a mutual  friend's 40th birthday. That trip would prove to be the beginning of a wonderful miracle. 

During that trip Joette and Sarah Christen began to talk. They learned of each other's lives. Their interests. Their experiences. Surprisingly, they had much in common. A budding friendship began to form. Joette's family and Garve's family were skeptical. The families were still unsure of the others and both had hurts. 

A few years into the friendship that was continuing to deepen, Joette planned to bring her daughter to Sarah Christen's child birthday party. It was the first time that Garve's family would all be there. Sometime during the party Joette's daughter,  and Garve's DAD, began playing with each other by bouncing a tiny bouncy ball back and forth to one another. That act, in and of itself, was something that took the girls breath away. It was a physical symbol of the healing that was beginning to occur between the families. During that interaction the tiny bouncy ball accidentally hit a porcelain rose that was sitting in the house. It shattered. Joette was so upset. Sarah Christen's dad told her not to worry. This porcelain rose was just a THING, and there was not  a chance this THING could be more important than a child. Things break. Joette felt better, but over the years would always say something about wanting to replace the broken rose. 

The healing of the families hurts continued over time. Sarah Christen was hired by Joette to work at her family business! Talk about coming full circle! The friends have laughed and said that God has a great sense of humor. To go from a Shakesperean family grudge to being the best of friends and even working together is a true testament to how blessed we can be when we allow our hearts to be open. Jay McIrney said it best, "The capacity of friendship is God's way of apologizing for our families." How true! 

Joette called me the other day, and told me she had left a "HAPPY" on my porch. In the box, was the porcelain rose pictured above. I will always look at that rose and see MUCH, MUCH more than a pretty piece of porcelain.