By Father Tom Early - St. Alban's Episcopal Church

When my wife and I were involved with a young adult community in Cedar Falls called Simple Supper, our friend suggested a game called Rose, Bud, Thorn. It was an icebreaker of sorts. We each went around the table and named a good part of our day, a bad part of our day and something exciting yet to come — a rose, a thorn and a bud. This became one of our favorite parts of our time together.