I admire dandelions because they keep coming back in spite of man’s best efforts to put them down. May we learn a lesson from them on perseverance.
Last week, I saw the first one. In a sea of grass, a lone dandelion popped up from the ground. It isn’t supposed to be there. The place we rent from does regular fertilizing and weeding. In fact, when I look to the left and right, I see no evidence of another weed. There is nothing but a sea of green grass…except right there!
Then last night, I saw that the lone dandelion had a friend. In spite of man’s best efforts, a dandelion plant is thriving and producing two flowers. You have to admire that kind of determination in spite of the best efforts of men with sprayers and spreaders.
Even as a child, I’ve always admired dandelions. They kept me from focusing on baseball and soccer. They were always more interesting than the games. I loved picking them and proudly presenting them to my mom. My grandmother would harvest them and make dandelion greens. Yes, the greens are edible. And if you like spinach, you’d love dandelion greens. Don’t laugh until you try them! Here are some legitimate recipes:
Life Breaks Us
We all have discouraging moments. The last three months have been ripe for disappointments. If you live for any length of time, one of the following will happen:
- Your heart will be broken
- Loved ones will disappoint you
- You will develop an illness
- Friends will come and go
- You will be passed over for a promotion
- It may be because you’re too good at what you do now
- Or it may be because someone doesn’t trust you over a thing you can’t control like:
- Race
- Gender
- Age
- Not in “the” Clique
- Your personality
- You discover a “stable” job was not that stable when you were laid off
- A total stranger will say something hurtful, whether they intended to or not
Unfortunately, we live in a broken world that tends to break people.
We have a choice
- We can choose to let those that break us define us
- Unforgiveness leads to bitterness
- Bitterness leads to hurting others
- We stay stuck
- We can forgive, persevere and rise above the brokenness
- Instead of hurting people, we become healers
- Instead of going with the crowd, we become changemakers
- Instead of staying stuck, we move on and become a light to the world
I admire dandelions because they just keep coming back in spite of the best efforts to keep them down. May we learn a lesson or two from them on perseverance.
