I Want to be a Dandelion!

Grace and blessings to all of you!

So, the time has finally come: it is time for me to face reality, and do the homework that I have successfully evaded for two whole days! But wait--before I do homework, I figure that I must get my recent thoughts out on paper--well, internet--so that I can focus on my homework for a little while. And that is my justification for postponing my homework for just a little bit longer...

Yesterday, I went to the 6 a.m. Mass, and afterwards traveled with 120 other students to Pittsburgh, PA. We prayed in front of 2 abortion clinics that are right by each other. It was powerful; we were not all together--us students made small groups of 10-15 people each, and we clustered together in small circles on the sidewalks, praying intensely for somewhere around 3 hours. Our fearless (and pretty awesome) leader, Victor, gave some really good reflections at the end of our time there: 1. We are there, WITH the babies as they die. We want those children to know that they ARE loved, and that they are not alone! 2. At the clinic, we are standing at Calvary with Mary and John, witnessing the death of innocence.

Afterwards, a bunch of us in Students for Life went to the house of 2 senior girls and ate burgers and chilled out for the afternoon! Then I went back to campus, and went to a Lord's Day celebration (each household has a Lord's Day, in which the group goes over the Gospel reading for Sunday), and went to dinner. And I ate a ton of sugar, since I was running on 4 1/2 to 5 hours of sleep--with no nap! :) Then I chilled out with awesome people, went to an Anime Club dance party, and finished up the night with an epic/deep conversation with a couple good friends! And it is on this conversation that I will write....I actually have been meaning to write about this topic for a while, but I have never gotten around to it. But, since the topic came up last night (though I somewhat brought it up) I figure that now is a good time.

I was having epic conversations with my friend Daniel, and we were joined by Kristen--sitting in the awesome tall chairs behind the JC at midnight, just talking about life. And I posed Daniel with a question: "If you were a flower, what flower would you be?"

His response?

"A dandelion."

I majorly freaked out.

Seriously, that is the exact SAME answer that I would give! Actually, at the Rosa Mystica Lord's Day a couple weeks ago, we were given that very question, and I gave the same response as Daniel. So last night, for a few minutes, Daniel and I started talking about the epicness of the dandelion. And I wish to go on my little dandelion tangent, because I can! :)

I first began a bigtime fan of the dandelion in my sophomore year of high school. One day, in science class, I had some free time at the end of the hour. And so I wrote...and I wrote about the dandelion. I started developing my thoughts. Honestly, the dandelion is such a powerful tool that God used to communicate! So here are some of my thoughts:

• The dandelion is considered a weed. Gardeners and homeowners alike try to eradicate all dandelions out of the garden or front yard. Dandelions are detested by many people. They are trampled underfoot. We must be humble, we must be seen as nothing. In order to achieve holiness, we must make ourselves little, to glorify God! Sirach 3:18 "Humble yourself the more, the greater you are, and you will find favor with God."
• Dandelions are very difficult to get rid of. The more people try to weed them out, the more they spread and reproduce. The more that we are detested by the world, the more vitalized we should be in seeking holiness. If we are seriously striving for holiness, we will be attacked by the devil. Those attacks should encourage us to be more intense in our prayer and humility. Sirach 2:5 "For in fire gold is tested, and worthy men in the crucible of humiliation."
• Dandelions are a beautiful, joyful yellow color! They brighten creation, they bring joy to the landscape! And then (I credit this next part to Daniel) think about young children. Young children will pick dandelion bouquets to give to their mothers. And these dandelion bouquets bring such immense joy and love to both the mother and her child! Dandelions spread joy and love! By immersing ourselves in humility and love, God will grant us a share in His incredible joy! This joy will then spread to those around us. We will embrace the world with love for God! Proverbs 15:30 "A cheerful glance brings joy to the heart; good news invigorates the bones."
• Here's my favorite part....In order to spread its seeds far in wide, to grow more beautiful, joyful dandelions, the dandelion must DIE TO ITSELF AS IT IS KNOWN and change its beautiful, joyous yellow bloom into a seed head. John 15:13 "No one has greater love than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends."

I love dandelions!!!!!!!!!!!!