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Hours of Operation
The
Child Care Center
is designed for children between the ages of
2 to 5.
We are
open
Monday - Friday from
7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
For more information about our facility,
please call us at
(941) 484-4415.
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~ Artist Unknown ~
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A lady had recently been baptized. One of
her co-workers asked her what it
was like to
be a Christian. She was caught off guard and didn’t know how to
answer; but when she
looked up, saw a jack-o-lantern on the desk and answered:
“It’s
like being a pumpkin.”
The co-worker asked her to explain that one. “Well, God picks
you from the patch
and
brings you in and washes off all the dirt on the outside that
you got from being
around
all the other pumpkins.
Then he cuts off the top and takes all the yucky stuff out from
inside. He removes
all
those seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc. Then He carves you a new
smiling face
and
puts His light inside you to shine for all to see. It is our
choice to either stay
outside
and rot on the vine or come inside and be something new and
bright.”
~ Author Unknown ~ |
Thanksgiving
Thorn Bouquet |
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Sandra felt as low as the heels of her
Birkenstocks as she pushed against a
November gust and the florist shop door. Her life had been easy,
like a spring
breeze. Then in the fourth month of her second pregnancy, a
minor automobile
accident stole her ease. During this Thanksgiving week she would
have delivered
a son. She grieved over her loss.
As if that weren’t enough her husband’s company threatened a
transfer. Then her
sister, whose holiday visit she coveted, called saying she could
not come. What’s
worse, Sandra’s friend infuriated her by suggesting her grief
was a God - given
path to maturity that would allow her to empathize with others
who suffer. “Had
she lost a child? No -- she has no idea what I’m feeling,”
Sandra shuddered.
Thanksgiving? “Thankful for what?” she wondered. For a careless
driver whose
truck was hardly scratched when he rear-ended her? For an airbag
that saved
her life but took that of her child?
“Good afternoon, can I help you?” The flower shop clerk’s
approach startled
Sandra.
“Sorry,” said Jenny, the shop clerk, “I just didn’t want you to
think
I was ignoring you.”
“I -- I need an arrangement.”
“For Thanksgiving?” Sandra nodded. “Do you want beautiful but
ordinary,
or would you like to challenge the day with a customer favorite
I call the
Thanksgiving Special?” Jenny saw Sandra’s curiosity and
continued.
“I’m convinced that flowers tell stories, that each arrangement
insinuates a
particular
feeling. Are you looking for something that conveys gratitude
this
Thanksgiving?”
“Not exactly!” Sandra blurted. “Sorry, but in the last five
months, everything that
could go wrong has.” Sandra regretted her outburst but was
surprised when
Jenny said, “I have the perfect arrangement for you.” The door
to the shop once
again opened.
“Barbara! Hi!” Jenny said. She politely excused herself from
Sandra and
walked
toward a small workroom. She quickly reappeared carrying a
massive
arrangement
of greenery, bows, and long-stemmed thorny roses.
Only, the ends of the rose stems were neatly snipped, no
flowers.
“Want this in a box?” Jenny asked. Sandra watched for Barbara’s
response.
Was this a joke? Who would want rose stems and no flowers! She
waited for
laughter, for someone to notice the absence of flowers atop the
thorny stems,
but neither woman did.
“Yes, please. It’s exquisite,” said Barbara. “You’d think after
three years of
getting
the special, I’d not be so moved by its significance, but it’s
happening
again. My
family will love this one. Thanks.”
Why so normal a conversation about such a strange arrangement,
she wondered?
“Ah, said Sandra, pointing. “That lady just left with, ah.....”
“Yes?”
“Well, she had no flowers!”
“Right, I cut off the flowers.”
“Off?”
Yep. That’s the Special. I call it the “Thanksgiving Thorns
Bouquet.”
“But, why do people pay for that?” In spite of herself Sandra
chuckled.
“Do you really want to know?”
“I couldn’t leave your shop without knowing -- I would wonder
about
nothing else!”
“That might be good,” said Jenny. “Well,” she continued,
“Barbara came
into
the shop three years ago feeling very much like you feel today.
She
thought she
had very little to be thankful for. She had lost her father to
cancer,
the family
business was failing, her son was into drugs, and she faced
major
surgery.”
“That same year, I lost my husband. I assumed complete
responsibility for
the
shop and for the first time, spent the holidays alone. I had no
children,
no husband,
no family nearby, and too great a debt to allow any travel,”
Jenny said.
“What did you do?”
“I learned to be thankful for thorns.”
Sandra’s eyebrows lifted. “Thorns?”
“I’m a Christian, Sandra, and I believe God gave us all things
in life, but
I never
thought to ask Him why good things happened to me. But, when
bad
stuff hit, did
I ever ask! It took time to learn that dark times are important.
I always enjoyed
the ‘flowers’ of life but it took thorns to show me the beauty
of God’s comfort.
You know, the Bible says that God comforts us when we’re
afflicted and from
His consolation we learn to comfort others.”
Sandra gasped. “A friend read that passage to me and I was
furious! I guess
the truth is I don’t want comfort. I’ve lost a baby and I’m
angry with God.” She
started to ask Jenny to “go on” when the door's bell diverted
their attention.
“Hey, Phil!” shouted Jenny as a balding, rotund man entered the
shop. She
softly
touched Sandra’s arm and moved to welcome him. He tucked her
under
his side
for a warm hug.
“I’m here for twelve thorny long-stemmed stems!” Phil laughed,
heartily.
“I figured as much,” said Jenny. “I’ve got them ready.” She
lifted a tissue
wrapped
arrangement from the refrigerated cabinet.
“Beautiful,” said Phil. “My wife will love them.”
Sandra couldn't help but ask, “These are for your wife?”
Phil saw that Sandra’s curiosity matched his when he first heard
of a
Thorn
Bouquet. “Do you mind me asking, “Why thorns?”
“In fact, I’m glad you asked,” he said. “Four years ago my wife
and I nearly
divorced. After forty years, we were in a real mess, but we
slogged through,
problem by rotten problem. We rescued our marriage by our love,
really.
Last year at Thanksgiving I stopped in here for flowers. I must
have mentioned
surviving a tough process because Jenny told me that for a long
time she kept
a vase of rose stems -- just the stems -- as a reminder of what
she learned
from “thorny” times.
That was good enough for me. I took home stems. My wife and I
decided to
label
each one for a specific thorny situation and give thanks for
what the
problem
taught us. I’m pretty sure this stem review has become a
tradition.”
Phil paid
Jenny, thanked her again and as he left, said to Sandra, “I
highly
recommend
the Special!”
“I don’t know if I can be thankful for the thorns in my life.”
Sandra said to Jenny.
“Well, my experience says that thorns make roses more precious.
We treasure
God’s providential care more during trouble than at any other
time. Remember,
Sandra, Jesus wore a crown of thorns so that we might know His
love. Do not
resent thorns, actually be thankful for them.”
Tears rolled down Sandra’s cheeks. For the first time since the
accident she
loosened her grip on resentment. “I’ll take twelve long-stemmed
thorns, please.”
“I hoped you would,” Jenny said. “I’ll have them ready in a
minute. Then, every
time
you see them, remember to appreciate both good and hard times.
We
grow through
both.”
“Thank you. What do I owe you?”
“Nothing. Nothing but a pledge to work toward healing your
heart. The first
year’s
arrangement is always on me.”
Jenny handed a card to Sandra. “I’ll attach a card like this to
your arrangement
but maybe you'd like to read it first. Go ahead, read it.”
My God, I have never thanked Thee for my thorn! I have thanked
to Thee a
thousand
times for my roses, but never once for my thorn. Teach me the
glory
of the cross I
bear, teach me the value of my thorns. Show me that I have
climbed to Thee by the
path of pain. Show me that my tears have made my
rainbow.
Jenny said, “Happy Thanksgiving, Sandra,” handing her the
Special. “I look
forward
to our knowing each other better.” Sandra smiled. She turned,
opened
the door and
walked toward hope.
~ George Matheson ~
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For I
consider that the sufferings of this present
time are not worthy to be compared with the
glory which shall be revealed in us.
Romans 8:18 |
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