Roses like the one at left come into our hands as gifts given or received. Their color, texture, aroma, and startling beauty can make them everything from presents of love to symbols of apology. A dozen roses is still something most women consider a great sign of love.
But it is the roses growing in gardens or blossoming into photographs that have always meant a lot to me. We grew roses in our back yard in California and I remember them 
from the time I was small enough to look up at their blooms.
Flowers also come to patients taken hostage in institutions because of ill health. They land on the shelves of hospitals, hospices and nursing home rooms. They have the ability to soften the cold environments so many institutions project.
I have also met many roses wearing nurse’s uniforms or doctors coats. Caregivers who 
carry with them the grace of angels can heal with the beauty of their presence. This is a love we can all grow from our hearts if we look deep within and then free from our lives the power of the divine.
What do roses mean to you in your life as a caregiver?
-Erie Chapman
Journal of Sacred Work 
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