Humble Flowers of God's Garden

 When I was a little girl, I thought dandelions were so pretty. I’d often pick them for my Mom. She’d put them in a vase and give me a hug. Eventually she told me that dandelions were weeds. I remember thinking they are such pretty little flowers, how can they be weeds? I graduated to picking fistfuls of wild violets that grew along the roadside of our Indiana farm.

This morning, while walking with my dog, I spotted a dandelion, face up toward the sun and thought how cheerful it was. Then I thought of Jesus and how he did not chose to hang out with the hybrid, the fancy, the first class. He chose from among the common, tax collectors and ordinary fishermen. They grew an extensive root system of faith. They were hardy, they didn’t readily fall victim to the diseases of sin in society. Like the dandelion, they were useful. The dandelion has an ingenious method of seed dispersal. So too, did the disciples. The wind of the Holy Spirit blew them across the world to preach the gospel and they survived intense hardships. Like the dandelion, they had a cheerful countenance, faces lifted toward the heavens.

We should all endeavor to be more like the dandelion, with cheerful dispositions, readily dispersing seeds of faith all while being useful plants:

• Dandelion root has been used in traditional herbal medicine for hundreds of years.
• Dandelion leaves can be harvested and eaten as an addition to a green salad.
• Dandelion leaves can also be steamed or added to a stir-fry or soup.
• The flowers are sweet and crunchy, and can be eaten raw, or breaded and fried.
• Dandelion flowers can also be used to make dandelion wine.
• The root of the dandelion can be dried and roasted and used as a coffee substitute, or added to any recipe that calls for root vegetables.

This humble “weed” is actually quite a useful plant that doesn’t require expensive soils or fertilizers to grow. We only need faith in Jesus to save us and God’s Word to help us grow into useful plants in God’s garden.