Thank you for the Cross!!

A new minister was walking with an older, more seasoned minister in the garden one day. Feeling a bit insecure about what God wanted him to do,  he asked the older preacher for some advice. The older preacher walked up to a rosebush and handed the young preacher a rosebud and told him to open it without tearing off any petals. The young preacher looked in disbelief at the older preacher and was trying to figure out what a rosebud could possibly have to do with his wanting to know the will of God for his life and ministry. But because of his great respect for the older preacher, he proceeded to try to unfold the rose, while keeping every petal intact. It wasn't long before he realized how impossible this was to do. Noticing the younger preacher's inability to unfold the rosebud without tearing it, the older preacher began to recite the following poem. It is only a tiny rosebud, A flower of God's design; But I cannot unfold the petals With these clumsy hands of min