A Bouquet of Roses
As a teenager, I was very blessed to have incredible youth ministers, great youth conferences to attend, and many other resources and support systems. Of course, the most important were my family and my personal relationship with God. All these people, organizations, and opportunities gave me a huge and deep grounding in the subject of, the reasoning behind, and my desire for purity. I chose at an early age to stay away from people, places, and situations that would pressure me to compromise my beliefs and give up my virginity.
There were numerous quotes, illustrations, and Scriptures that I learned during those intense years, which stuck with me and came to mind when I needed them. One such illustration was that of comparing one’s purity with a bouquet of roses. I can’t credit the person or place from where I heard it, because I don’t remember, but it went something like this….
Think of yourself as being a full bouquet of beautiful, perfect, roses. Now imagine that someone of the opposite sex comes into your life and you allow them to touch your body in ways that you know they shouldn’t. You just gave that person a couple of your roses. Now imagine that you let someone be incredibly intimate with you in ways that are inappropriate. You just gave them a couple more of your roses. Imagine that some time later, you engage in sex with someone. You just gave away more of your roses. Now imagine your wedding day. Imagine that wonderful person who you are pledging to love and cherish for the rest of your life. You approach them your bouquet to give to them. It’s made of roses. And there are only a couple roses in your bouquet. You gave away most of your roses – your purity and innocence, and now there are only a couple of pretty roses left for you to give your loved spouse.
This is, of course, just an illustration, but it reminded me that I was saving myself for my future husband. That I wanted HIM to have ALL of me. (If you feel that you have “given your roses away,” this is not intended to hurt you in any way. God still loves and values you and has a plan for your life! There are consequences to sin, but there is still forgiveness and restoration from God when we ask!)
Today, the same illustration came back to my mind, but I thought of it differently. I thought of my life represented by a bouquet of roses that I am saving to give Jesus when He returns or when I die. During the course of my walk here on earth, I don’t want to give a rose away to “time spent my way” and a rose to “disobedience” and a couple of roses to “apathetic” and a couple of roses to “lack of boldness” and a couple roses to “other loves”. When I see Jesus, I want to run to Him with my figurative full bouquet of roses, lavishing my love and worship upon Him and declaring how I have waited for Him and longed to see Him and all of my life has been devoted to pleasing Him.