Dandelions

It's spring, so I've started to hear the yearly groan about dandelions. I may be the minority but I LOVE dandelions. It may be because of my children, especially one of them who calles them "dandy-fly-ins." I love that they bring a smile to their faces and that they love to pick them to bring smiles to other's faces. It may be the fond memories I have of blowing on the dandelion seeds and "making a wish" as they became those white fluffballs. But I think it's mostly because it reminds me of one ofmy most favorite devotions. It is from my Woman's Devotional Bible and as strange as it sounds, dandelions have taken on a theological meaning for me. So I thought I would share it with you today:

DANDELIONS

By JoAnn Morrison
From the Women's Devotional Bible

Dandelions! No matter how carefully I try to pull one up, I never get the whole thing. The root stays deep in the ground, threatening to grow up and blossom again.

But despite their bad reputation, dandelions are pretty little flowers with their yellow strands all tucked neatly into the center. And truly they are the most beautiful of all flowers when presented clutched in a child’s dirty little hand. No one gets yelled at for picking them. Perhaps they grow only to be used and enjoyed by children.

Dandelions are ignored or attacked, never nurtured or cared for, and yet they always bloom profusely. They demand no pampering or special attention to yield their bright blossoms; they pop up in fields, in lawns, and between cracks in the sidewalk, even in the best neighborhoods. Can you imagine trying to grow them in a garden? They’d sneak through the boundaries and pop their sunny yellow faces up in the surrounding lawn. They would never stay put!

Christians should be more like dandelions. Our sunny yellow faces should be a reminder that simple faith has deep roots that are impossible to dislodge. Our vast number would show the world that even through we are not fancy or pampered we are evident everywhere, even in the best neighborhoods.

We should be as easily accessible as a dandelion. Jesus was. We need to get out of our gardens and jump across the boundaries that keep us where people expect to find us. We need to show our sunny yellow faces in all the spots that need a little brightening up – the crack in the sidewalk or the lawn of a country club.

I hope the next time you see one of those "annoying" little dandelions, you will stop to think about how God can be using us to be one of those sunny little faces who pop in another's life to share the Gospel message. Maybe when you see those white little fluffballs that they turn into you will remember that just as they will blow their seeds around to grow all over again, that we too are called to blow our seeds of faith and spread the Good News to the ends of the earth.