Dandelions           by Shauna Brown 

          

        I love Dandelions! It’s not just because they are sunny yellow, they are packed full of sweet memories.  I love the way, Henry Ward Beecher, once shared concerning them:    

                 “. . . the radiant dandelion, shining in the grass,  

                                like a spark dropped from the sun.”  

          

        From my earliest memories I remember how Mama made me feel, as I entered the house with my little dandelion bouquet, picked with uneven stems. Just her smile let me know it seemed to be as sweet and appreciated as a dozen long stemmed red roses. I can see her now going to the kitchen cupboard to get a glass, filling it with cold water, and placing my gift within.  “They’re beautiful, aren’t they?” she would say.  As if she didn’t know, I took her by the hand and showed her where I picked them. It was then she gently introduced me to a bigger surprise. She carefully pulled up a white silky, seeded, pom pom in her hand. I didn’t realize they were same, only time had revealed it’s eternal purpose. 

               “I’ll make a wish,” she said, after which she blew a few seeds into the sky. “Again, this time you make wish.” I wished, and then I took a deep breathe and blew with all my might, and watched as nearly every seed was scattered. I watched them drift and dance. It was a glorious moment. I’m sure my eyes were wide open as it seemed so wonderful, exciting as they merged, lifted up, up, and away. Little white helicopters hovering in every direction , till I saw them disappeared.    I thought it magical and wanted to delight within it more. I rushed around the yard and picked and pulled every dandy pom pom and blew ‘till they were naked bare. 

                I smile as I still pluck silk pom poms from their stems and make wishes, and blow them into heaven. I watch as they float upward, holding my promises and prayers. You see, I believe that in that simple thought and gesture God is very aware of our hearts, the intentions of our soul, and the desires we focus upon.   

                   Oh, I don’t worry about having “dandelion weeds”  growing in my yard, I welcome them. I embrace their creation and marvel at all their worth. You see to me, the dandelion is an emblem, a symbol, of possibilities.   

        Henry David Thoreau, looked upon nature as a teacher while he lived at Walden Pond. Within his two years, two months and two days he wrote and recorded his thoughts.  Perhaps he too plucked a dandelion and blew it’s tasseled wonders into the sky. Then he wrote within his journal, perhaps even sketched a few seeds. 

  “What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are  

        tiny matters compared to what lives within us.”   Henry David Thoreau 

  

               God has planted seeds, people, within our lives, all shapes and varieties. They may only last a brief moment and then continue and drift upon their venture. While others become deeply rooted, nurturing and enriching our lives, as if a ‘spark dropped from the SON.’ They have gifted us of their divine purpose, time, and worth.   

  Imagine a silk dandelion if your will ..... 

          “Thee lift me and I’ll lift thee and we’ll ascend together.” Quaker Proverb

        So, take a deep breath, and toss a wish unto the heavens, blowing gently to give each little seed an opportunity to rise higher, understanding all the while that every wish is a prayer.  

        Dance on I cry -  

        Blowing 

        Fairy moons into heaven’s sky.  

Enjoy Your Sabbath  - to every season . 

Love Always 

Shauna