A rose. It’s beautiful in its most popular color of red. Roses also come in other colors, in fact, an array of colors! They are also pretty in yellow, purple, pink and other offset colors—along with no color at all, such as white. No matter what color, if you were given a rose it is a symbol of love and beauty.
Whether it is one rose, a dozen roses, a bunch of roses or a rose bush, the care in handling the rose is dependent upon the prickly thorns. The thorns don’t take away from their beauty or the symbolism, but it does matter how they are handled. They are to be ‘handled with care’ from the beginning, especially if the thorns are not removed.
Juneteenth, all about what it means to be free, was just celebrated over the weekend. This is one of those events originally organized in Nashville with leadership and the help of Rev. Enoch Fuzz, pastor of Corinthian Missionary Baptist Church, several years ago—even before many people knew exactly what Juneteenth was.
As Rev. Fuzz continues to battle with stage four lung cancer, he was unable to attend any of the celebrations this year, much less organize as he has done for so many previous years. Concerning this weekend, he said: “Breathing was poor. Years ago I would have organized Juneteenth celebrations. But this year, with poor breathing, I couldn’t even attend. My daughter drove me across the street to church Sunday [Father’s Day] because my breathing was so challenged that I couldn’t walk that far. I wasn’t hospitalized, because I refused to go to the ER. I made it through Monday by getting back to the breathing treatments.”
Rev. Fuzz constantly pushes himself to ‘show up.’ But sometimes the labor is too difficult. When he is seen at an event, no one is the wiser to his difficulties. He is like that beautiful rose that has prickly thorns. He’s not prickly, his medical condition is prickly and must be handled with extreme care. “It ain’t over till it’s over,” Rev. Fuzz said. “A lot of people praise how well I look, but I let them know that people are not always as well as they look.” He may ‘look’ well, but he is not healed to the extent that he appears. While he is grateful for his healing and remains forthright in speaking about his journey, it is of great importance that people around the world continue to pray. Keep praying and understanding while you pray that God heals. He made the roses so beautiful, and he also made them with prickly thorns that can be removed when needed.
Keep watching Rev. Fuzz’s posts on Meta and be encouraged by reading the weekly column, ‘Cancer: My Journey in Time.’
