dailydatewithgod

We all have experiences in our lives that cause us to put up walls within ourselves and towards life outside of ourselves.  These thorns we often think are coming from other people.  It is something they did or an event in life that cause us to have to put up our defenses.  When we are left feeling as though no one is going to come in and save us or protect us we develop very deep thorns.  I know I had many and am continually uncovering more as life goes on.  What I do now instead of hiding them is reveal them to God.  I dispel the shame I have about carrying them and lay them out to be looked at with light.  God shows me these defenses are only painful because I think I need them to remain whole and safe.  She invites me to look at the thorns as my chance to get close the rose of my heart.  He wants me to sit and just look at what they are doing for me and what they are doing to me. There may be some I want to keep but when I see them in the light I notice the stem on which they are growing is distancing me from the love within my own heart.  The spiritual path is harrowing and painful at times because darkness and shame can have a strong hold.  God gently leads me with my breath to get close to the thorns, see how they feel, notice how they are shaped, and allow her light to penetrate their core.  If I decide I am ready to let go of the thorn, I can do so with honor and be touched at an even deeper level with the petals of love which will grow in its place.  My daily date has taught me to be patient and curios about any wounding from thorns present in my life and see them as an invitation to bring light and beauty like a rose into formerly dark and shameful places.