The Great Gardener

I am not a gardener by any stretch of the imagination.

I don't have a green thumb - I have a black thumb...

The "flower bed" around our house is mostly dirt with some sorry looking green things sporadically growing here and there. They're supposed to be rose bushes, but we don't see roses very often...

Trees and bushes in our yard look pretty pitiful most of the time...

I once killed a cactus because I didn't water it often enough!

Yeah...

I like flowers enough to keep blogging about them - EXAMPLE 1, EXAMPLE 2 - but I guess some people were meant to cultivate, and others were meant to just stand back and admire!

That said, Amber and I have an ongoing argument every Spring. She insists that whenever dandelions start coming up, that means it's time to cut the grass. I, on the other hand, feel like it's a shame to cut these beautiful blooms down in the prime of their lives!

Yes, as much as I love roses and rhododendrons, I really have a soft spot in my heart for the lowly dandelion. To me, they are just beautiful!

     Maybe it partly has to do with how easy they are to find.
          Maybe it's because they're among the first signs that Spring has arrived.
     Maybe it's because I remember proudly collecting bouquets for Mom when I was little.
          Maybe it's because my black thumb doesn't affect them!!

Maybe I just love them because I feel like so many people take them for granted.

You call them weeds.

I call them flowers!

The other day, I saw a little patch as I was walking to the house, and I just said, "Thank you, God, for sending me flowers!" They brought a smile to my face. They reminded me that God cares about even the little details of our lives. They made me happy.

Or maybe the reason I love dandelions so much is because on some level, I kind of identify with them, at least on some level.

I mean, I believe that God creates each person on purpose, and we are each created with a plan in mind, but let's be honest: there are over 6 billion people on this earth today, and humans have been around for thousands of years - that's a LOT of people! It can be easy sometimes to wonder how or why God still cares about each and every one of us.

When I consider how many other people there are, and when I have a day where I don't particularly feel like there's anything that special about me... you could say I feel like just another dandelion in a field... but I'm not the first to feel that way...

"When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers - 

the moon and the stars you set in place - 

what are mere mortals that you should think about them,

human beings that you should care for them?

Yet you made them only a little lower than God

and crowned them with glory and honor."

- Psalm 8:3-5 (NLT)

Dandelions, to me, are a reminder that even when I feel small and insignificant, God planted me here for a reason, and he made me what I am on purpose. Even on days when I feel like I'm not all that important or all that appreciated or all that wonderful, God notices and he cares. I don't fully understand why he loves us so much, but I know that he does, and that's what really matters!

"Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?"

- Matthew 6:28b-30 (NLT)

Thank you, Lord, for your unending love.

And thanks for being a much better gardener than I am! :-)