Some of y’all may have read my last post about what a rough week last week was for me. Well, it didn’t get any better over the weekend. I will spare you the gory details, but suffice it to say, it has NOT been how I would have liked it to go. Even so, God is still in control.
Last Friday, I was at work and I saw the craziest thing. Dandelions. BLOOMING dandelions. Now y’all, I am in south-central Kentucky, and it’s the middle of November. Our area (ever the over-achievers) started winter early this year. For several days earlier in the week, we had temps that were well into the low teens with wind chill factors that would make Frosty get out his long handles. In fact, in the earlier part of the week, we actually had some snow and ice that caused school to be canceled. So you can imagine my surprise when I went to lunch on Friday and saw SEVERAL audacious dandelions blooming there amongst the dead grass and frozen weeds. I stopped, laughed, and took pictures. I think the Lord was trying to tell me something.
There is a meme going around social media, that I just love. I will post it here, but it highlights the difference between roses and dandelions. Basically, roses are persnickety. They need certain specific conditions in order to grow, bloom, and be beautiful. Dandelions, on the other hand, are undemanding, strong, resilient, and hard to kill. In America, many people spray poison on them in an effort to kill them, but the dandelions just pop up someplace else. Dandelions are some of the first food for the bees in the Spring (and if y’all don’t know how important bees are to humans and our food supply, a quick Google search will have you being much nicer to your friendly local buzzers) and dandelions are even used medicinally. They are actually cultivated in certain parts of Europe. Their leaves are edible in salads and the roots are dug early in the Spring and dried to make teas and tinctures. Dandelions have shown benefits in natural medicine for everything from bladder infections and constipation, to indigestion and weight loss.
So why am I talking about dandelions? Well, because I think, as Believers, we are called to be dandelions. Not roses. Roses are all about how they look, and how they smell. It’s all about the presentation to the outside world. But the reality is that they are fragile, and they die easily. They require certain conditions to thrive. They must have the right amount of sun, the right temperatures, the right nutrients in the soil, the right soil ph, and the right amount of water. Their thorns keep people away and cause pain. The first pest that comes along can devastate a rose bush.
But WE are called to be dandelions. The value in a dandelion is NOT about what’s on the outside, it’s about the WHOLE picture. The Word says (1 Samuel 16:7) that God looks on the heart of a person. Unlike roses, we are not supposed to cause pain. Just like dandelions, God wants us to facilitate healing in those around us. We are called to support and encourage and introduce people that are sick and hurting to The Healer. Dandelions can feed people, both directly (by eating the plant) and indirectly (by feeding the bees that give us honey and pollinate our crops.) We are called to feed people. We are supposed to feed people both literally and spiritually. Both directly (providing food, cooking, or serving food to people in need) and indirectly (by financially supporting ministries that do these things.) The Word says (Nehemiah 8:10) that the joy of the Lord is our strength. We are called to be strong and resilient. We are not to shrink back and die when the enemy comes at us with his 
weapons and his plans to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). Isaiah 54:17 says that no weapons formed against us shall prosper and you will refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment! We see the enemy spreading poison and trying to uproot us, but the hand of the Lord and His favor is upon us, so we persevere. We know we must be obedient to Him and His Word. We are promised (John 10:10) life and life more abundant! We know when the enemy throws all his fiery darts at us and attacks us from every angle that usually that only means that he is trying to abort something big God has coming for us soon. So when we see a challenge, a problem, a difficult situation pop up in our lives, we should be like the little dandelion, who lifts his head to heaven and hollers “WooHOO! Concrete!! Because I know you are going to see me through this, Lord, and you are going to allow me to bloom anyway. I am excited to see what you have in store for me next!”
Romans 5:3-4 ESV Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,
James 1:3-4 ESV for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Luke 21:19 ESV By your endurance you will gain your lives.
Hebrews 6:11 NIV We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized.
James 1:12 ESV Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.