The Pure, White Rose...

"Look at this. What do you see?" her father questioned.

"A lovely rose," she said. 

"What color?" 

"White." 

"Pure white," her father emphasized. 

"What else do you notice?" 

"Well, it is closed. It is just a bud." 

"What is the inside like?" he inquired. "Open it for me." 

"I can't open it for you!"

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because it has to open by itself," she stated.

"But I want to see the inside," repeated the king. 

"Then you will have to wait for it to open when it is ready. If I force it open, you will never see its beauty." 

"But are you not overly cautious?" teased the king. "We'll only open a few petals." 

"The rose is very delicate," she answered. "The petals will tear, and it will never be the same...."

~From Before You Meet Prince Charming by Sarah Malley

My parents, when I was very young, planted several beautiful rose bushes. Each summer, they bloom with radiant beauty, and 'tis such a wonderful sight to behold. Not only is their appearance quite lovely but their fragrance as well.

Just a little while ago, I was enjoying the coolness of the evening {for it has been very warm as of late} and I was snapping away, clicking my shutter, on my Nikon at our first buds of our roses. When I glanced at the rosebuds, the part from Sarah's book came to mind, one which has stood out to me ever since the first time I read it. 

Our roses are so beautiful in the summers, sometimes 'tis hard to wait patiently for them to bloom. Yet, if I were to peel away the petals {believe me [confession time ;)] when I was younger, at least one time I

pre-maturely opened a rosebud or other type of flower to be sure} the treasure of the rose's loveliness would be gone, and the beauty would not be the same.  

Ladies, we are that rose...

We are pure and white, just barely blossoming, and as we grow older and mature, so does our beauty. Yet many do not want to wait until they have fully bloomed. They want affection and love in that specific moment; and they want to fill that void of longing and aching in their hearts. 

Ah, but alas! Do they turn our hearts to Christ? Sadly, many a lady has fallen into the snares and traps of eloquent and dashing princes on their road of purity. They allow their rose to be handled by several men, for they are depressed and crestfallen; they think hope is not near. They turn to young men who are "there" with arms outstretched or to give a soothing word to balm their broken hearts and then unfortunately, young ladies give up their most precious gift... 

{via}

....And their beauty, their radiant purity, fades away. 

Oh, yes, they can be forgiven; there is always hope and room in our loving Savior's arms, but there are still consequences and scars from the past that could have been avoided.

Dear maidens, 'tis difficult to walk the road less traveled, the road of purity; 'tis bumpy, winding, and hard and scorners are many; but 'tis worth it. And you do not have to walk alone. Christ is with us, no, Christ is in us.  We shall have our reward awaiting us at the end of this journey.

God wants His best for you. Why ruin His perfect and wonderful plan for your life? 

So let us take this journey together, with joy, fair maiden!

On the Road of Purity...

With Many Blessings,

P.S. I would really encourage you to read my dear friend's post Falling in Love if you have not done so already. She wonderfully writes a tale of a young maiden, like you an me, who is not just "waiting" for her true love.

P.S.S. I recently received a comment from a reader who was asking how I round the corners of some of my images. I use Picnik.com, a free photo editor that I use for all of my photos. Just upload the image that you want, and click "Frames." On the sidebar, there should be "Round Corners" effect and you can round the corners to your liking {I usually click the little box that says "Transparent corners," as well}. Hope this helps!

P.S.S.S. You simply MUST check out this giveaway:

  

HERE!!!!