Dandelions

I have a strange memory from my early school days. Memories from St Patricks catholic school hold a special place in my mind. I loved my school and only have good memories of the 9 years that I spent there. It was small. We went to mass every friday. There was no play structure. There was asphalt and paint. This meant that kickball and foursquare where honored at recess time and that our school could have taken any other school on and destroyed them. Scraped knees where not a thing to cry over but something that made for a good story and to compare to the other kid's bloody knee to see who's was better. There was no room for bad attitudes or girly silliness. The school had a good aroma. And my class was the potpourri of the school! But back to this memory. I remember picking dandelions. My class went out during school hours to some of the houses in the neighborhood and picked their dandelions. We had big bags that we filled. And boy did we fill a whole lot of bags! We took these bags to a big factory. This is where the memory goes a little fuzzy and all I have left are some sparse but vivid pictures of this factory. I have no idea what this pest of a plant was turned into. But it did some good I am sure. And isn't that just how life is. Sin pops up in our heart but God..... God takes the sin and turns it upside down. God takes death and swallows it up with resurrection life.

Dandelions are on the brain. My yard is full of them. And they grow so fast, so relentlessly that I have given up trying to mow before they outgrow the grass. I would need to mow weekly to defeat them. But I really only like to mow every other week so my yard only looks decent for about 5 days before my grass is hiding below a bed of dandelions. Or rather a sea of dandelions for they really do appear to have no end!

The other reason that dandelions have consumed me (as well as the yard), is that I came up with a great analogy today while taking to a sister about sin. I was looking out at my yellow speckled yard when my sister was taking about how discouraging it can be when you just cannot get the upper hand on sin. Just when you think you have it down, just when you think you are over something, it pops it's ugly head up in the form of a thought, "but really it was so horrible how........."fill in the blank. How he spoke to me, how he treated me, how he lied to me, how he cheated me. And the list of offenses is as varying as condiments in my fridge. But the real perspective is quite different. Look at it this way. When sin comes in (a dandelion in the yard) and you repent (you pick the dandelion), you have dealt with it faithfully. If you notice another dandelion, and then another dandelion, do not be discouraged. Just pick the dandelions out as they come your way. And pretty soon you will find that the yard is looking pretty good! And that your maintenance of this pesty weed is becoming quite manageable. But, always, always get rid of it as soon as you notice it! It is often tempting to go sit in the bed of dandelions and ponder over why they are there. It is easy to sit down with the dandelions and ask "how did you get here?" "where did you come from?" But all this does is turn you into another weed in the garden. Pick the dandelions, get rid of the dandelion. Don't turn them into a little pet to cry over. Just get rid of it. And if you notice that your whole heart is overrun with dandelions, do not fear. But rather rejoice that God is faithful and just to forgive. Start with one dandelion at a time. And if they will not leave you alone, remember to fight the good fight and never tire of doing good, good being killing the dandelion. You will have victory! And yes, each victory leads to another fight. But that does not mean you are failing. It rather is a sign that you are being faithful. If you are not fighting sin, then you have lost. Fighting is the ticket to living a fruitful blessed life. So get out there and take a sword to your dandelions. Cut there little heads off and never tire of doing it. And you will find that you get better and better at fighting. So the key is not to stop fighting, but to become a skilled warrior. The bible is very clear that this life is not one of ease. There are blessings all around us. And life is good. But it is not true that good and easy go together. It is a lie to think that fighting is a sign of failing. Or that fighting is a sign of something wrong with you. It you have this mindset, then get rid of it quickly! Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Gear up for battle!! But on the whole armor of God. Stand and fight. And it is in this fighting that you find victory. Victory in Christ will one day lead to rest. But that will be the day that you stand before Him face to face. That time is not yet here and you want to hear these words when that time does come, "well down my good and faithful servant." So get out there and pluck those dandelions. And when you pluck one, get ready to pluck some more!