The Dandelion

The wind carried the little seed far from its original origin, gently lowering it exactly where it wanted it to be, soil in between the crack of a driveway in front of a single-family home. Cold, the seed snuggled deeper within the soil looking for the warmth the soil provided and settled as deeply in as it could manage, slumbering contentedly within the confines of its new home. 

The little seed loved its home, the cement walls around the soil made it feel safe and secure, protected and guided.  As time went on, the little seed experienced the pain of growth as it began to grow within the darkness of the rich soil and it began to sprout, small shoots began reaching up towards the warmth of the light coming from up above.  It stretched its little green shoot as it continued to grow in length finally protruding until it’s single green shoot broke the surface of the soil, stretching out into the warmth of the sun.  There was no going back below the surface of the soil, it continued to grow and reach towards the warmth of the sun, content and as the days continued on, a bud grew at the tip of its shoot and blossomed into a bright yellow blossom.  The little dandelion was happy and content.  As it noticed the rest of the world around it, it noticed not too far from where it was planted, was a house and in the soil in front of the house, grew a red, red rose.  Stunning and fragrant. The scent of the rose wafted towards the yellow dandelion.

“You are lovely!”  The dandelion said to the rose, genuine in its praise.  “And you smell so good!”

The rose turned its head from the sun it was basking in, towards the direction of the dandelion and scoffed.

“Of course, I do, I am a rose.”  It said looking with disdain and distaste at the dandelion. “I was planted here for a purpose, to look beautiful and to release my perfume.”

“And what purpose do I have?” Asked the dandelion curiously, “Do I have a scent too?”

At that the rose laughed, “You a scent?  Oh my!  That is funny!” 

It bent down its long stem down to study the little dandelion with amusement, pointing a leaf in its direction disdain dripping off its response. 

“You are a weed. An ugly, little yellow weed…Have you not noticed that I sit upon the rich soil of the front yard of this house?  To multiply and grow beautifully along the trellis of this sweet house and to add to the beauty of its home, while you are an unfortunate weed whose roots lay deep within the crack of the driveway of this house.  You have no purpose. You are a weed, which as with all weeds will be quickly removed as soon as the owners of this home notice you. How unfortunate.” 

As if dismissing the dandelion, the rose turned its face and attention back to the warmth and the light of the sun, proudly opening up its petals wider to the adoration of the light, delighting in the attention of a bee that had decided to lighten upon the rose’s center and partake in its sweet nectar.

The young dandelion felt chastened, its perception of its comfy little wedge, changed from the protective sheltering walls around it, to the confiding cement of a crack when compared to the freedom of the front deep soil the rose was situated.  Suddenly it felt lacking.  It had no scent and could not deem a purpose. It drooped in sadness, feeling contained and stifled by its environment.

One day the door of the house opened, and the owner came out along with his family which consisted of woman and a young child.

“Oh, how lovely my rose looks!”  The woman said in delight admiring the beautiful flower.  “Can you smell its sweet aroma from where you stand?” She said turning her head to her husband and son, smiling at them and then turning her head back to look at the blossom. “Its red bud is exquisite!” 

The woman reached down, carefully avoiding its thorns to turn the head of the bud towards her nose as she inhaled. 

“Absolutely, lovely!”  She said smiling and releasing its head.  The rose proudly resumed its position and attention to the sun.

“Remind me to get my shears and clip it when we come home, so that we can enjoy the scent of it inside the house, for now that its bud is fully open, it will begin to diminish in beauty. Let’s remember to cut it and bring it into the house.”   

Just before stepping into the car, she stopped, out of the corner of her eye she caught the yellow color of the dandelion, now fully blossomed itself and growing sturdy in the crack of the side of the driveway. It captured her attention and brought a gentle smile to her lips. Gesturing to her child to come join her, she took his hand and walking around the car, they went to where the dandelion grew.  They stooped down together to study it.

“See this dandelion?”  The mother said, gently touching its blossom.

“Most people would just see it as an annoying weed and uproot it from where it is at.  But let me tell you about this plant, for that is what it is…The dandelion has many wonderful aspects to it.  Unlike the rose, who has its own beautiful purpose.  The dandelion is from the “daisy family”, botanists consider the dandelion to be an herb, its entire body is actually editable from the head to the roots!  They are actually more nutritious for us than any of the vegetables in our garden!”

The child’s mouth opened in a round circle of surprise.

“Dandelions spring up quicky, but live for years, with their roots going down as far as fifteen feet below the soil!  Dandelions need sunlight and won’t survive in shady areas.” 

Winking at her son, she gestured her head in the direction of her husband (his father) whose back was towards them, and whose balding patch on the center of the back of his head was beginning to be prevalent.  She whispered into her son’s ear.

“I’ll bet you didn’t know that God created Dandelions to be used for medicinal purposes, and it is said that one of the things they can be used to treat baldness.”

They giggled together before she continued on,

“It is said that when you give someone a dandelion, you are giving them a symbol of hope because dandelions are hardy and can survive in even the most difficult environments, as you can see is the case with this one. I love their bright yellow color.  They are hardy blossoms, see how this one has sprouted in between the cracks of the cement?  While the ground around it is hard and unyielding, to me it shows how something living can blossom in any environment and add color and beauty to its surrounding.”

She pointed towards the cracks in the cemented driveway.

“Remind me to hire someone to get the driveway fixed…”

Her husband grumbled as his attention joined that of his wife and son.  He crouched down to admire the little dandelion too.

“I have fond memories of going for walks with my parents, your grandparents when I was no older than you… We would walk in fields where many little bright yellow dandelions grew.”

He looked down at his son with a fond smile. The young child’s eyes followed his father’s large but careful fingers, as he pointed to the yellow petals adorning the dandelions head.

“We will not disturb it, but let it continue to grow, for when it is fully grown, its petals shall turn a furry white. When I was your age, I would make a wish and blow the white fluffy seeds off the head.  We used to believe that if we could blow ALL the seeds off with one breath, the wish would come true.” 

The child’s eyes grew wide.

“Daddy is that true?”

The father chuckled and lay a hand on his son’s head, ruffling his hair before responding.

“Well, I’m more partial to believing prayer is more effective than wishful thinking… Although I’ll wager that it amuses God, being the Creator of all things, when we blow off the seeds on the head of the dandelions.  We are actually aiding Him in the process of relocating its seeds. I’m sure He takes delight in us appreciating His creation.”

“Can we do that to this one when it is ready?”  He said curiously eying the yellow leaves of the dandelion, willing them to hurry up and grow white.

“If we can catch it after it turns before God uses the wind to do so.”  The Father said laughing again, standing up and gesturing his family towards the car. “Come along now, or we’ll be late.”

The little family took their perspective seats within the car, and with the doors shut, the father made sure he maneuvered the vehicle careful not to trod over the little dandelion at the end of the driveway before driving off.

Standing a little taller, the dandelion called out to the rose, “You were wrong, I may not have the beauty that you possess, but it turns out I have one of my own… And I was created with MANY purposes.  It seems to me that all creation was created to serve a purpose.  Everything under the sun., and that includes BOTH you and me.”

The rose harrumphed and refusing to respond with any other kind of remark stood tall with its blossom raised up to face the sun before meeting its own destiny.

The moral of the story is this – God has a purpose for every one of us, our job is to find out just what that purpose is and to fulfill it.  The gifts God has given us were given WITH that purpose in mind… To seek after that purpose will determine how BIG a blossom we become.  There is NO greater joy than fulfilling the destiny that God had in mind when He created us in our mother’s womb.  Not one is less important than another if used for the glory of God. Praise His name. \0/ \0/ \0/

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