I remember as a youth in Minnesota running through what we called “the woods,” a rather dense stand of trees behind our house and catching my arm on a thorny vine from a blackberry patch. Not only did it wound me, but a big hooked thorn was still in my arm. I remember how it hurt and how careful I was going by that particular patch of bushes in the woods later. It is interesting to me how nature is designed to protect itself. Blackberries are a real treat and make delicious jam and pies, but the bush is not going to let you have her berries for free, without inflicting a few scratches and thorny pricks. The blackberry thorns are longer than most and curved almost like fish hooks; they are especially vicious. It almost seems to a blackberry picker that they reach out to get you, like they are physically attracted to you. Anything in life that represents a hardship for us has been labeled as “thorny” or undesirable situation, whether it be a death in the family, sickness or financial problem, etc. Interestingly, some people have even been referred to as thorny or prickly because of their unwelcoming personalities. I have even heard people refer to personal relationships as thorny—in other words not really close and friendly. I guess when we are truthful, we all may be thorny to someone else at times. If we are not in a happy mood, I suppose we could be considered to be in a thorny one. During those times, if we are especially thorny, we could probably be compared to a blackberry bush by anyone who may be “running” by us at the time.
Because I was a ninth grade dropout, school was viewed as a thorny institution for me. Realizing later that education was important, I registered as a freshman at Utah State University after being discharged from the Army. My very first quarter was a doozy because, for the very first time, I had academic courses, and I had to see myself as a real student. I had registered for an English literature course (poetry). I never read anything in my life with the exception of the Book of Mormon, a few other religious books and several Zane Grey westerns such as The Riders of the Purple Sage. There I was in the middle of a poetry class, and I did not understand most of it. But one poem that I really liked and found myself rehearsing in my mind often was “The Rainy Day” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Even today, sixty years later, I still think of that poem almost every time there are black clouds in the sky or a problem in the family. It reads as follows:
The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains,and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall, But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.
My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains,and the wind is never weary;
My thoughts still cling to the mouldering past, But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,
And the days are dark and dreary.
Be still, sad heart, and cease repining; Behind the clouds is the sun still shining; Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.
Though the first two verses are “dark and dreary,” it is the third verse that shined on me. I quote that verse to remind me that the sun, in fact, is still shining behind those clouds. Too, when sadness comes into our lives or the lives of our children, I know that this cloudy and dreary day will pass for us and/or for them and the sun will again shine in our lives. It is easier for me to be reminded of that because of my long life. I have seen many cloudy days and watched as the sun came from behind the clouds, mak- ing everything better.
I suppose that we would all avoid thorns and days that are dark and dreary, if we could. But when we seriously think about those days as well as the thorny experiences in our lives, we would probably have to admit that even though at the time there was some pain and discomfort, we really did learn something. For example, I was so much more careful around that blackberry bush when I ran through the woods after that. Bad things happen to all of us, but we know that those thorny issues cause us to be more careful in the future. We grow because of thorns, and the thornier the situation, the more in depth is our learning. Tom Wilson quipped, “You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can be grateful that thorn bushes have roses.” God made thorns for our sake, remember what he said to Adam after they had transgressed; “Because thou hast …eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to ( for) thee…” (Genesis 3:17–18) Thorns and thistles are for our sake? Yes, I believe that!