Charlene Milliken Resiliency Rose Award and the Parable of the Rose The G.E.A.R. Parent Network was started by Charlene Milliken, a parent and foster parent who recognized the need for positive help and support for parents coping with the demands of caring for children with special needs. The Resiliency Rose award is awarded to a G.E.A.R. Parent who has demonstrated resiliency and outstanding committment to the emotional and mental well-being of children. Click on the dates below to see past recipients. 2009 2008 2007 To learn more about Charlene Milliken, G.E.A.R.'s first Director, and the history of G.E.A.R. Parent Network, click here to view our video celebrating her struggle to make our voices heard. This poem is in honor of Charlene.  Parable of the Rose A certain man planted a rose. He watered it faithfully. Before it blossomed he examined it and saw the bud would soon blossom but noticed thorns upon the stem. He thought… How can any beautiful flower come from a plant burdened with so many sharp thorns? Saddened by this thought he neglected to water the rose and before it was ready to bloom it died. So it is with many people. Within every soul there is a rose: the godlike qualities planted in us at birth growing amid the thorns of our faults. Many of us look at ourselves and see only the thorns and defects. We despair thinking that nothing good can possibly come from us. We neglect to water the good within us and eventually it dies. We never realize our potential. Some people do not see the rose within themselves; someone else must show it to them. One of the greatest gifts a person can possess is to reach past the thorns and find the rose within others. This is the characteristic of love, to look at a person and know their true faults. Accepting them into your life while recognizing the nobility in their soul. Helping them to realize that they can overcome their faults. If we show them the rose they will conquer their thorns. Only then will they blossom many times over. Author Unknown |
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