Six silk roses, a gift from somewhere in the past, as perfect as a pair of hands
could make them, even to the simulated thorns down the stems.
A tiny gold label, glued to one green leaf on each stem, said "Made in Hong
Kong" so the creator of my six silk roses was probably oriental. And I blushed
to discover the fault of silk craftsmanship – one petal of each rose showed the
selvedge of the silk.
Perhaps the Quality Control Officer had left early that day. Perhaps the
selvedge was a statement, like the statement I had seen in Kings Chapel at
Gibraltar. In the Chapel the ceiling is covered with dozens of hand-crafted
roses. But one is less than perfect.
The culture of the craftsman did not permit him to create a perfect work so he
implanted a fault in his workmanship. It was a statement of his humility as an
imperfect being.
Perhaps the maker of my silk roses sighed with relief as the Quality Control
Officer left, enabling her to implant an imperfection in her creation. Perhaps
she also was making a quiet statement of her humility.
It would be nice to trace her to tell her her roses are appreciated. She might
enjoy a word of thanks but such is the anonymity of things, she will never know
my thoughts towards her.
Like the silk rose-maker and like the craftsman in Kings Chapel, we all make
anonymous statements for the world to read. It will read us whether we like it
or not and our imperfections should be a tiny gold label of our humility.
But wherever there is a living rose, we know exactly who has made the perfect
statement.
‘God saw all that he had made and it was very good." Genesis 1:31.
Elizabeth Price, Team writer with Just a Minute
reprice@dragnet.com.au
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