A Red Rose

Previously published in 2013 - dho

A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need. 

Proverbs 17:17 NLT

December 1963

Every autumn, every year, my heart remembers a time of personal and spiritual growth. After brain tumor surgery, my grandmother retains her abilities to comprehend situations, but can no longer verbally express herself. Recalling the summer of 1974 finds me thankful for these last months of sharing, both through tears and gestures, but always laughter was louder. Reflections of my paternal grandmother's last stage of living always bring to mind an unusual demonstration of friendship. Her friend remains faceless to me. She's just a name that I heard from time to time over the years. And, just as mysteriously, for nearly 5 months, a red rose arrived each day.

A Remnant of Love

Once long, long ago, who knows just when,

            Greetings were exchanged.

Neighbors for a while, some say, these two

            Strangers became friends.

Conversations of yester-year gone

            And unrecorded,

How I wish I could go back in time

            To find the secret

Of such enduring friendship, a gift

            Of the heart for life . . . 

Sunny skies and death, together, cast down

            Shadows on my soul.

Precious as gold, time seemed all too short;

            She would soon be gone.

Silent tears of helplessness inside;

            Laughter was louder.

Old stories retold became treasures,

            Priceless memories.

Although miles and miles apart, friendship 

            Did not notice, and

Always, a token of remembrance

            Was placed by her side.

Gentle reminder, gesture of love,

            Each day one red rose.

Only once did she speak to me of 

            Death, my constant thought.

Relentless, calloused foe of mortal

            Life claimed her spirit . . .

Her body lay empty beneath a 

            Blanket of roses.

I stood beside her grave in sorrow

            For my loss; I wept.

I remember taking one red rose,

            A final farewell.

For me it was a symbol of her

            Friend’s tender heart,

Of such enduring friendship, a gift,

            A remnant of love.

Although more than a decade has passed,

             I still think of her.

Those priceless memories come to mind

            As if time stood still.

Each year when autumn breezes whisper,

            Tears seek revival.

Beneath the sadness I remember

            Laughter was louder.

And my heart is blessed as I recall

            Her final months, when

Always, a token of remembrance

            Was placed by her side.

Gentle reminder, gesture of love, 

            Each day one red rose.

How I wish I could go back in time

            To find the secret

Of their enduring friendship, a gift 

Of the heart for life.

(written 1987, Donna Oswalt)

I wrote this poem more than a decade after her death, words eluding my emotions until then. And still, when I think of such friendship, the best definition I can think of is "each day one red rose." What an amazing heart-gift! What a demonstration of love and loyalty! The Life Application Study Bible says, "The greatest evidence of genuine friendship is loyalty." More than four decades later, I have learned this kind of friendship is extremely rare.

God never asks us to do something without having demonstrated it Himself. Jesus tells us to love one another and demonstrates this rare kind of love with His life, death and resurrection. By definition, loyalty manifests itself by devotion, honesty, sincerity and support. God models His loyalty to us though His constancy, incorruptibility, steadfastness, and truth. Genuine relationships understand the value of sharing life events; to remember the beginnings, to treasure the laughter, to honor the celebrations, to bear the disappointments, to endure the ordinary, and to love through the endings. God promises to love forever! 

Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. (1 Corinthians 13:7 NLT) God's love is much more than a token of remembrance or a gesture of love. Christ's unmatched sacrifice becomes God's matchless grace. This holy gift of enduring friendship redefines loyalty's unfailing love as Perfect Love. I have learned this friendship is the rarest of all! ~ dho