We Can't Judge a Dandelion by its Cover

You know those bright yellow flowers that we consider our enemy? I saw this photo and a friend’s post declaring “Dandelions are not Weeds! They build bones better than calcium, cleanse the liver and heal eczema.” Who knew? I’ve always pulled them out of my yard or had my lawn guys spray them away. But though we may not care for them growing wild in our lawns or gardens – still (if not laden with chemicals) are edible and can be used for a whole host of culinary purposes and health benefits. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics says edible wild greens, like dandelion, taste good, are low in calories and are packed with vitamins. Dandelions in particular are high in calcium and vitamins A and C.

So, people spray their lawns to get rid of them, while others use them to heal their body of numerous ailments. We can learn a lot from the good found in dandelions. How many dandelions does it take to cover our entire lawn? Only one, given a little time. Ever try to get rid of dandelions? Unless we dig all the way down to the very tip of the taproot, we're not getting rid of them. They keep coming back, undefeated by our efforts to stop them.

Wow! Revelation from Heaven Central! God's creation created with purpose. And so were we! We should be like those dandelions -- knowing what we believe in and what we stand for, and hold us fast when forces try to dig us up – defeat us, discourage us, and wipe us out -- knowing “tough times don’t last – but tough dandelions and tough people do”. Dandelions grow everywhere: cracks in sidewalks, middle of lawns --- its seeds land and they grow and bloom. That should be us. Wherever we are and whatever the situation, we can grow and thrive. We need to be as stubborn as dandelions with our faith – unwavering, relentless, and committed to never giving up.

We cannot ignore dandelions. Their bright yellow color screams at us to either weed them out and now we know the health benefits so they'll scream at us to eat them! We'll never ignore them again! They’re unabashedly, loudly here. They are relentless. They teach us to not let the haters get us down. Some people curse dandelions as a weed and try to take them out, but they keep coming back. And, we need to know what and WHO we stand for so we can be as resilient and single-focused as the dandelion. We just keep coming back.

Maybe it’s time we become dandelion-minded. God put us here for a reason and while others might see us as nothing more than an irritating weed, God sees us as His daughters and sons and He endowed us with abilities and strengths to conquer and overcome whatever comes our way. Inside of us are prayers to be prayed, songs to be sung, books to be written, words of encouragement to be given to others to heal their hearts and souls, ideas that can change the course of history. So go ahead, be as stubborn as a dandelion and never quit. Just be the best dandelion (YOU) that you can possibly be and let your bright colors of God’s grace and love shine through you.

Pretty Flowers or Pesky Weeds?

Day 88 of Photo Inspirations -- Pretty Flowers or Pesky Weeds?
These lovely little violet flowers seem to be everywhere this year.  They look great as ground cover as we travel along streets and highways.  On the other hand, they are overtaking many lawns, and, in actuality -- they are weeds -- Henbit, to be exact.  They lay dormant all winter, then make their presence known in early Spring.
Many of my neighbors already have Spring fever -- that are eager to start getting their gardens all prepped for planting flowers, herbs and vegetables.  Great gardens don't grow naturally, but weeds do.  

Pulling weeds and planting seeds is the story of life.  We are either allowing weeds that need drastic measures to remove from our lives (anger, envy, jealousy, immorality, gossip, complaining, bitterness) and that rob us of energy and the nutrients necessary to grow and flourish the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, GENTLENESS and self-control).  
Pesky weeds squeeze the life out of fruit-producing seedlings.  And those pesky weeds have an inate ability to multiply. Remember when we were kids and we loved breaking off the stem of a dandelion that held a cluster of seeds?  A breeze or a puff of air would instantly launch a jillion of those tiny, angel-hair parachutes. But, soon we learned that those wind-born villains would cause dandelions everywhere.  And, that's the way it is with just one weed growing freely in our lives.  One weed can spread to be a full ground cover of weeds.

Don't you wish we had some high-powered super duper weed herbicide for ridding our yards of weeds -- but even more so....the ability to help us instantly eradicate weeds from our lives?  The reality is that all soil has weed seeds. Lives do too. What you and I need is a personal visit from the Master Gardener and His heavenly hoe.  Why don't we ask Him to visit our gardens today, and do some fresh cultivation of the soil in our hearts?  Once we do, we can count on a bumper crop of the Fruit of the Spirit that gives us the harvest we have been believing for.