When I was a little boy I used to pick dandelions for my mother. I’d be running around the backyard and notice those bright, curious, little yellow weeds. Of course, at the time, I didn’t know they were weeds; I thought they were flowers. I knew that giving flowers was a sign of love, and I knew that I loved my mom, so in my little world dandelions made perfect sense. I’d walk into the house and proudly announce, “Mommy, I picked you a flower!” With a bright smile she would say a huge thank you, give me a hug, and then put the dandelion in a little glass of water and place it on the windowsill above the kitchen sink.
My mother didn’t care that I gave her weeds. Really, would any mother? She was simply overjoyed at the little act of love that her son offered her. It really wasn’t about the dandelion; it was about the son doing his best to show his mom that he loved her. And isn’t that enough to lift a mother’s spirits, to touch a mother’s heart?
I don’t pick dandelions for my mom anymore; I do send her roses on her birthday. But when it comes to my spiritual life, there are many days when I feel that the only thing I’m offering to the Lord are dandelions. Have you ever had a day like that? A day where your prayer might be something like this: “Lord, I’m having a hard time seeing any good that I did today. In fact, I feel like I screwed up more than anything else. Yes, there was one little moment when I offered a prayer for my hurting friend, but that’s about it. Oh, and there was one moment when I came out of my self-absorption and spoke a word of encouragement to my co-worker. But I feel like these are insignificant compared to what I should be doing for You.”
But we ought not underestimate the power and significance of those dandelion moments. As we do our best to love in the little and seemingly insignificant events of our day, the Lord accepts our love with joy—like my mom accepted those dandelions. It’s those little moments of love that expand our capacity to love. He receives those dandelions with great joy. He doesn’t reject what we offer Him, even if we think it’s insignificant.
I love the gospel story of the little boy with five loaves and two fish (See John 6:9). There’s no way a crowd of five thousand can be fed with five loaves and two fish. But that little boy, out of the goodness of his heart, gave what he had to Jesus. And what did Jesus do? He didn’t laugh at the boy and tell him that he was silly to think that his five loaves and two fish could make a difference. No, He received the five loaves and two fish and multiplied them to feed the five thousand.
It’s a great lesson for us. Some days we feel that we haven’t done much good and that we have very little to offer to Jesus. But offer it we must! Because He does with our offering what He did with the little boy’s: He takes it and multiplies it.
I don’t know if it’s true, but I once heard that Pope John Paul II at the end of the day would often pray: “Lord, forgive the bad; multiply the good.” That’s a great way for us to end our days. “Lord, forgive the bad that I’ve done; but please multiply any good that I’ve done—even if the good is only equivalent to a dandelion.”
So how does this translate into your own prayer and spiritual life?
- Today, focus on the good that you’ve done rather than the screw-ups. Our tendency is to focus on what we’ve done wrong rather than what we’ve done right.
- Take some time to identify those dandelion moments and thank the Lord for giving you the grace to respond to his prompting. You may have not changed the world today but you may have touched someone’s heart in an unexpected way.
- Today, focus on doing little things with great love. Just for today, stop pressuring yourself to achieve huge goals and allow yourself to be like the little child who gives dandelions to his mom.
Thank you Father. This is just what I needed to hear today. It has helped me sort out my day and what I can offer to the Lord. At first I thought I had nothing to give Him, but now I know I do.
You definitely have a lot to offer to him! As I said, our tendency is to focus on what we do wrong. He wants us to focus on what we’ve done well.
Thanks for reading.
Peace!
Amazing, God knew this was what I needed to hear today, thank you for being His messenger as always! God bless you and Mary keep you!
Christine
Christine,
So glad you found this post helpful. Thanks for reading.
Peace!
Fr. Michael Najim http://www.catholicpriest.com
Sent from my iPhone
Thank you for your inspiring words.
Fr Michael, I shared this post with my 13 year old son. We had a good laugh b/c he also used to bring me dandelions when we has little (I think pretty much every kid who had a back yard in their house did this for their mom). Your message was simple enough for him to understand: we offer God what we have. Peace and blessings for you today! – Michelle :0)
Fr. Mike,
Thanks for the dandelions and thanks for the roses. The dandelions always made me smile and I think God smiles when we do little things with great love. Thanks for helping me see that. Sometimes I feel that I don’t have anything to give to God, not that he needs anything from me, but I have a NEED to give to God for the all the good He has given me. I need to remember that when things aren’t going exactly as I would like them to go, and when I feel like I’m overwhelmed with trials, that God is still in charge, and sometimes He gives us dandelions and we really want roses!!!
Luv, Mom
Have you ever heard “Dandelions” by Five Iron Frenzy? It’s one of my favorite songs – thanks for more to meditate on.
@Pauline You’re welcome. Thanks for reading.
@Michelle I’m happy you and your son enjoyed the article. So good that you’re teaching him about the Lord!
@Mom You always speak words of wisdom! Thanks for teaching me to give to the Lord and that we can’t outdo Him in generosity.
@Stephanie I haven’t heard the song, but I’ll check it out. Thanks for reading.
Beautiful…just beautiful..thanks!
One minor point though…I’d argue that dandelions are much more than weeds, they are really amazing little flowers. In fact, I think if the Little Flower, Therese, had chosen a little flower to be, it might be a dandelion. Dandelions are far from weeds — the entire dandelion is useful. The roots make tea, the leaves if picked in early spring make a very healthful salad full of antioxidants, the flowers make fine wine. The flowers are the harbinger of spring. What speaks spring more than dandelion flowers in a field deep green grass? These tough little flowers can grow about anywhere. They grow in places the delicate and beautiful rose dare not go. They bring little sprigs of yellow hope to the imprisoned and those trapped in inhospitable world of urban concrete and blight. They are the littlest flower that bring rays of hope and love to places where the rose dare not grow. And they fit perfectly in a toddlers little hand.
Thanks for that beautiful reflection! You should have written the article for me! : )
Fr. Michael Najim
http://www.catholicpriest.com
Sent from my iPhone
Thank you for the well-written reminder. What you wrote here is so obviously correct, but for some reason it is difficult to remember. I think that, in my case, it is a lack of humility which causes me to forget that God will give me the grace to pick exactly the flowers that I should pick, and I should enjoy the beauty like a child rather than analyze them like a cynical adult. Thank you.
Rae,
Thanks for reading! We all have to have the humility to accept the way the Lord works. It’s not necessarily always the way we want it, but I guess that’s why we’re not God!