Flowers in the Weeds

When I was at Biola University, I had a roommate who really liked the music of Five Iron Frenzy. She got me listening to it, and we even went to a few of their concerts. One of my favorite songs was “Dandelions”. It begins by describing a scene of a little boy collecting yellow flowers to give to his mom. The mom then holds them tight and puts them in a vase, celebrating her son’s efforts and thoughtfulness.

It’s been years since I thought of this song. Life kind of takes over, and the tunes that we rocked out to yesterday become old and forgotten as our tastes and interests change. However, I began thinking of this song this weekend while at a Women’s Day Retreat that our church hosted. We did a little art project where we went out and took pictures will our cell phone of things that struck us as beautiful. We tried to slow down and listen to God pointing out His beauty and love to us in the neighborhood around the church before returning to reflect and savor the moments of beauty caught on our cell phones.

My favorite picture that I took was this one:

A dandelion growing in the shade of the sidewalk that led to our church’s front doors. Any other day I would have walked right past. If this dandelion had been growing in my own yard I would have ripped it out with vengeance because these are weeds that ruin the lawn. But something stopped me here. Perhaps it was the full head of seeds that were waiting for the afternoon breeze to take them away. Perhaps it was the location and the bend of the stem that reached out towards the sunlight. Whatever it was, I began to hear the Five Iron Frenzy tune stream through my mind.

She sees love where anyone else would see weeds

All hope is found.

Here is everything he needs.

My son has recently begun picking flowers to give me randomly. His current flower of choice is the deep red mums that grow in a large pot near our patio. But, he isn’t just bringing them to me to hold them for him as a trusted guardian, he gives them to me to keep. Except he usually brings me the dead ones. We’re working on it.

But the Five Iron Frenzy song isn’t just about a little boy’s gift to his mother, it’s about our own tentative gifts and doings toward our Heavenly Father.

Where do I fit in this puzzle,

What good are these gifts?

Not a martyr or a saint

Scarcely can I struggle through

All that I have ever wanted

Was to give my best to you.

Lord search my heart.

Create in me something clean

Dandelions—

You see flowers in these weeds

Two weeks ago I developed tendinitis in my right forearm after digging up and harvesting my potatoes. I had not anticipated having a four week rest period with little activity. In my last post I recounted how I needed to process all the garden goods and get meals and other yummy delights made. I now have seven LARGE winter squash in various places around my house that are just waiting, and daily remind me that I am falling behind. Instead of making yummy meals for my family to eat now and later, we are eating various meals already in the freezer because it hurts to stir, chop, lift, and just cook. I’ve been riding the slide down into the blues. I’m pregnant, so my strength feels gone. My arm is hurt, so what little I could still do is removed. I can type—hence this post—but even that twinges and hurts. Not a martyr or a saint, scarcely can I struggle through. I feel like all I have to offer lately is weeds. No beautiful roses or stunning orchids. Just dandelions, just weeds.

However, this last weekend reminded me that these weeds are still God’s creation, and He delights in them. Matthew 6:28-30 says:

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Not even Solomon could compare with the dainty and fragile beauty of these wild flowers. God delights in us (Psalm 149:4), and our feeble efforts to pursue righteousness and holiness. He has given us commands to love each other and to care for the earth and all that is in it, but He knows we will do so imperfectly. He knows we will love Him with an imperfect love until we are raised in glory and brought into His courts. He sees flowers in our weeds. He does not cast them aside as though they were a shameful gift, but He treasures them, puts them in a vase, and displays them on His table. Because, you see, it’s not about what we can do and bring Him. It’s about what Jesus has already done. We are covered with Christ’s righteousness (Galatians 3:27), so even the most humble of gifts is received with grace, honor, and love.

All hope is found.

Here is everything he needs.

So, if you’re like me lately, if you’re out in the weeds, struggling to value your work and daily chores, fighting to just keep it together, or desperate to understand where you fit into God’s plan: first, you’re not alone; second, God loves and treasures you, and is waiting to receive your dandelions. There is no shame in the love of Christ, and we can always go to the arms of our Father to be comforted and reassured. Amen and Amen.