The Determined Dandelion

I really like the dandelion. I think this started when I was just a child and left to play by the side of the soccer field as my brother's team was coached by my mom and dad. My friend and I would gather dandelions and then color all over ourselves, stray soccer balls, bikes, or whatever we could find. They make a really great squishy sound! Later in the summer when the brilliant yellow had magically transformed into the white seeds, no dandelion was safe! We'd pick every fluffy flower in sight and blow their seeds as far as we could. I'm sure those in charge of lawn care cringed every time they saw us coming.

I have a different appreciation for the dandelion these days. Even though the lawn was just mowed today, I can almost guarantee that there will be one or two dandelions popping up in the yard tomorrow. They are one determined flower. God created them to grow, bloom beautiful yellow, become fluffy, spread its seeds and die. And there is nothing you can do to stop them! Oh people try; they mow, they fertilize, they use weed killer, they pluck them out by the roots. But somehow the dandelions always come back. Instead of seeing a freshly manicured lawn as hostile territory, the dandelion seems to view it as a welcome stage for it to do what God has created it to do.

There are times that I could learn a little determination from the dandy dandelion.