Dandelions and Sunflowers

I was driving my favorite 12 year old home from our sleepover the other day. While driving her home, we discussed the plethora of sunflowers that can be found about the area, peppering the roads with obnoxious yellow buds. The topic of sunflowers led to the topic of dandelions, after all, they too are yellow.

"Dandelions are flowers."
"No, Aubrey, they're weeds."
"Oh, you're right. But they look like flowers."

And that was our conversation.

But somehow, the topic of yellow flowers reminded me of something more spiritual. Something with meaning.

We all have our own gardens. Gardens full of talents and choices we've made. Some gardens have great big flowers, some have ferns, and some are just starting to bud. It is up to us what "flowers" we plant in our gardens.

Satan has lots of "dandelions" in our lives: things that may seem enticing, looking aesthetically appealing and desirable but are extremely toxic, much like dandelions are. Like my conversation with my 12 year old bestie, dandelions look like flowers, but they, after all, are weeds. Weeds that can destroy a garden or field unless they're dealt with right away.

Sin is just like this. Its dangerous, no matter how big or small the sin is. It can become toxic and destroy us if we are not careful to "nip it in the bud."

Thankfully, we have Jesus Christ, the ultimate weed killer. With his giant bottle of Round Up called the atonement, we are able to destroy all the weeds that have possessed our gardens, allowing us to replant our beautiful flowers that were once there, along with new ones.

I'm very grateful for this.