A prayer to celebrate the thorns in life by Maggie Meadows Cooper, read by Liam Arton.

Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh,

a messenger of Satan to torment me.

Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me, but He said to me,

my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.

Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ's power may rest on me.

2 Corinthians 12, 7-10

A thorn is defined as a source of discomfort and annoyance or difficulty,

an irritation or obstacle.

You know how God knows just what you need and loves to arrange an opportunity to put you in your place

and ultimately teach you what living for Him is all about?

Well, as soon as I found out that the name of my little one's soccer team was the thorns,

I knew it was no coincidence and that he was up to something.

My littlest has challenged me in ways I couldn't have imagined.

She's pushed me and stretched me as a mama.

And the truth is the Lord knew I needed her to see how much I needed Him.

There might have been a few times her behavior as a toddler felt like a thorn in my side,

so I must admit that the team name made me giggle.

And recently, as I cheered her on and yelled, go thorns!

It hit me how ironic that sounds.

Thorns are not things we would normally cheer for.

They aren't something we want to have in our lives.

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