Weed or Wonder

Growing up I remember my dad was meticulous about his yard. It was cut trimmed and weeded, yes weeded. Anything growing in the grass that was NOT grass got weeded out. His nemesis, …. DANDELIONS. Yes, I grew up thinking they were terrible weeds that needed to be pulled up by the roots and discarded.

Our time living in Belize and Mexico gave me a wonderful opportunity to learn natural gardening, propagation of plants without buying them from the garden section of the store. Matter of fact back in 2015 I wrote 2 blogs about this very subject.

Everything you need for a beautiful garden Part I (https://catrinscaadventures.blogspot.com/2015/01/everything-you-need-for-beautiful.html) and
Self propagating gardens Part II. (https://catrinscaadventures.blogspot.com/2015/03/self-propagating-gardens-part-ii.html )

The point being many times we over look the unsuspecting beauty and benefits of something or someone because we only see the exterior, see it as unfavorable and never go beyond it to find its value. Take dandelions as an example. Did you know that every part of the dandelion plant has medicinal and nutritional value? It does!!!! The flower is used in teas, the stem and leaves are known as a superfood for its high vitamin levels. Even the roots are used PLUS it self propagates, when the flower goes to seed and the wind carries it off to create new plants. There are actually Dandelion Farmers!!

“I know…you may be shocked by this, but it’s true. Dandelions are a superfood high enough in vitamin levels to put even kale and spinach to shame. Those bright yellow weeds that pop up in the lawn? Yes, that’s what we are talking about. Get ready to have your mind blown!” https://gardentherapy.ca/superfood-dandelions/

We sometimes see people, things and ideas this way, only looking at the outside and never going beyond that to see beauty or value. 

Psalm 139:14 tells us, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

This mornings devotional on Facebook from our Youth, led by Lily Cooley, talked about having & showing value in yourself. Having respect for yourself honors God the creator of all things. I look forward to these devotionals each day and am so proud of our youth, their dedication to the Lord and their courage to stand up and proclaim him in their lives.

Take a second look at the dandelions in our world be they flowers in our yards, people in our workplace, ideas placed before us or things that appear broken and ready to be discarded. Look beneath the surface, find the good, re-purpose it and rejoice!