The Lesson of the Dandelion

And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:12 (NKJ)

Some time ago, I had the idea of writing a devotional book about things I saw in nature on my walks around the farm. I stalled after coming up with maybe a dozen devotionals and put the project on the shelf. But a few of them,including this one, can be found on my website. I decided to share this one here because a couple of weeks ago I posted a picture of a yellow wildflower I had spotted on my walk. That led to another little yellow flower picture and it became a game to see how many days I could spot a different new yellow flower on my walks. I'm up to flower number 16 and until today, I hadn't admitted spotting that yellow dandelion. But now it's the dandelion's day. So that's why I'm posting what I imagine God might have thought after he created the dandelion. 

The Lesson of the Dandelion

   God made the dandelion and said, "It is good. This plant is tough but has a bloom like a spot of sun to make my children smile. It is plentiful so they can eat the leaves and still never lack for flowers." 

He smiled when the seed ball popped up. "Yes, my little children will have fun with that, and look at all the fresh seeds for my songbirds weary from the winter. Yes, it is good."

Ah, the dandelion, that common yellow flower that blooms from spring to fall and even sometimes in the dead of winter after a few days of sunshine. This spring was a particularly good dandelion season. For a while all the lawns and fields were dotted with their sunspots. The roar of lawnmowers soon followed, but dandelions know when to duck their heads so that the next day they can push their white fluffy seed balls high into the air to cover the lawns like snow. It's not hard to imagine God smiling when His little children run out to free the seeds to the wind or when the birds enjoy the springtime feast or when mothers receive wilted bouquets of the blooms from small warm fists. Love in its purest form. 

Yet has there ever been any other plant that more money or labor has been spent attempting to eradicate? We poison it, chop it, dig it out by the roots, and still the dandelion not only survives, but flourishes.

The early Christians had that same staying power as the world tried to destroy them, but they put their trust in Jesus and would not be conquered. They kept spreading the seed of the Good News around the world. 

Are we sunspots of God's love in whatever place we're planted? Do we share the seeds of our faith with those who need nourishment after a hard winter? Do we remember the children to be sure the message is always carried on? Does God look down at what we’re doing and say, "Yes, it is good?"

Remember the Honor Mom Giveaway

A comment with a way to contact you gets you an entry in the giveaway for a chance to win the NKJ study Bible and a copy of one of my books. Another winner will get the set of Rosey Corner books. See the details on my website.

Thanks for reading.

Deadlines, Dandelions and Stories

http://www.rofotos.com/nature/flower/000008grape-hyacinths-muscari/

My deadline is staring me in the face. My book in progress needs to be off to the editor before Monday.  I suppose if publishing houses didn't set deadlines for writers, we might play with our stories and words forever and never get them out there for readers. So deadlines are good. 

Even before I had deadlines from editors, I set deadlines for myself. Except I didn't call them deadlines. I called them goals. The good news about the current deadline is I finally found those very necessary words, "the end." The bad news is they hid from me for so long I don't have as much time for editing as I'd like. But I'm scrubbing and polishing my story as fast at I can. 

The truth is, life intrudes on the best laid plans at times. But sometimes when that happens you get a surprise bouquet!

 So I've taken a break from trying to whip my book into shape before Monday to share a few more flower stories. I've loved reading your surprise bouquet stories. So many wonderful ones that I couldn't share them all. Many of you have left great comments on here with fun stories too. Thank you all so much. You make my contests so much fun. 

By far the most mentioned bouquets were those clutched in children's hands. Dandelions from the yard. Roses from a neighbor's yard. Broken heads of flowers picked without stems. But with love in every bouquet like this story from Lois.

"When my daughter was about 4 years old (now she is 40) she gave me a bunch of dandelions in a fruit jar for Mothers' Day and she was sooo very proud. They were the best flowers I have ever received." 

Pure love from a child to her mother. Love was in this bouquet Beth received from her daughter too.

"My 17 year old daughter surprised me this spring by picking a tiny bouquet of grape hyacinths and putting them in a small blue vase. Just for no reason." 

When I contacted Beth for permission to share the word image of her surprise bouquet, she added this about her daughter, Becca. "Just a proud Mama note I would like to share, Becca graduated this past Friday. She received 7 awards for her academics. The English, Latin, Science awards as well as valedictorian. What makes this remarkable - Becca is dyslexic and couldn’t read until 4^th grade. This is what God can do with hard work and desire. Now you can’t get her to put books down." 

Don't you love proud Mamas and happy stories? 

The last story tonight (maybe a couple more flower stories Sunday) we hear from the other side of the bouquets. Mary Ann says, "I remember picking bouquets of purple and white violets and of daffodils for my family when I was little. That always felt incredibly special to me." Then she added, "Oh wait! Think on, my wonderful eight-year-old son occasionally brings me the decapitated heads of daffodils and grape hyacinths and roses from our garden now, as Lovely Bouquets. :D"

Flowers do have a way of making us happy!

The deadline for my book is not the only one approaching. A deadline is coming for my Small Town Girl Celebration Giveaway too. Only three more days to enter. Deadline for entries is midnight EST Saturday. So if you haven't thrown your name in the hat for the roses and books or entered the "never win" contest for the wind chimes, you'd better do it quick. Send me an e-mail or leave a comment here with a way to contact you should you be the winner. Oh, and if you are one of those "never win" people, be sure to tell me that too.

Thanks for reading. Now back to work polishing and trimming and... Monday's coming!

 

 

The Mysteries of Spring

I had fun with my last mystery picture that wasn't much of a mystery for some of you. So how about this one? Got a guess before you read on? 

While you're thinking about it, let's talk about Spring. Here in Kentucky it was so cool in March that spring tarried and dragged its feet, but then April came along with sunshine and rain. Everything in sight burst into bloom. Redbuds, dogwoods, crab apples, lilacs, Bradford pear trees, tulips, to name a few. 

And the dandelion. 

People who want perfect lawns don't have much affection for the lowly dandelion, but I sort of like them. I made them a part of Lacey's story in The Blessed, by having her do a dandelion dance in the spring. And some years ago, I wrote this devotional about them. Here's a bit of it. If you want to read the rest of the devotional, you can find it on my website at this link, Ann's Dandelion Devotional)

The Lesson of the Dandelion 
God made the dandelion and said, "It is good. This plant is tough but has a bloom like a spot of sun to make my children smile. It is plentiful so they can eat the leaves and still never lack for flowers." He smiled when the seed ball popped up. "Yes, my little children will have fun with that, and look at all the fresh seeds for my songbirds weary from the winter. Yes, it is good."

So now if you haven't already figured it out, you know the mystery photo. I took the picture a week or so ago when the dew was extra heavy on the dandelion fluffs. Made them sparkle in the early morning light.

"If dandelions were hard to grow, they would be most welcome on any lawn." ~Andrew V. Mason

"The miracles of nature do not seem miracles because they are so common. If no one had ever seen a flower, even a dandelion would be the most startling event in the world." 


 "It gives one a sudden start in going down a barren, stony street, to see upon a narrow strip of grass, just within the iron fence, the radiant dandelion, shining in the grass, like a spark dropped from the sun." ~Henry Ward Beecher

So happy dandelion hunting and maybe dancing if you take the notion. I think if you look, you'll find some. :)

Do you enjoy Spring? What's the best part for you?