Dandelion Dilemma
Growing up in Mississippi and then living in Texas for most of my life I had one opinion of dandelions—they were weeds and I wanted nothing to do with them. However, since I have lived in Colorado for almost 10 years, I have made an interesting observation. Although the state flower is the Columbine, it looks to me like it should be the dandelion.
In the spring no one seems to care that what is considered a weed everywhere else that I have lived is allowed to grow freely…in yards…in fields…on city maintained property…in flower beds…everywhere. Since no one makes any effort to get rid of the pesky little flowers they grow bigger than I ever imagined possible. In fact I have measured one of the yellow flowers as large as 2 and a half inches in diameter. While the little yellow flowers do make quite a pretty sight when in bloom, they fade quickly and then form puffs of seeds that make them proliferate, compounding the problem.
However, I have been told that the dandelion plant does have some redeeming qualities. The leaves contain loads of vitamins and minerals and can be added to your salads, although I have not quite been able to go out to a nearby field and pick the leaves to put on my dinner table. The flower petals can be used for dandelion wine and since I don’t drink wine from grapes, I probably won’t try to make any from the little yellow flowers. The roots have been known to possess medicinal properties that aid in treating liver and kidney problems and may be helpful in treating digestive disorders and even cancer.
So what I might see as a problem that I would like to leave me and my yard alone, God created for a purpose. He gave the lowly dandelion qualities that are useful, so the next time you see a dandelion and reach for your weed pulling tool at least take the time to thank God for the good qualities of the pesky little weed because He created it to be good.
Genesis 1:11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
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