Ten Similarities between Mothers and Dandelions
Mothers and dandelions. We know them both well, but sometimes forget the blessings they bring!
They need no pampering or attention to show their golden faces to a world busily speeding by – beckoning us to appreciate their brightness. “A happy mother of children. Praise the Lord” (Psalm 113:9)!
Both seem to pop up out of nowhere – and then they’re everywhere. One moment the yard looks plush and green, the next moment a patch of dandelions have poked through. One moment the kitchen is tidy, the next moment mom is kicking up dust by baking cookies, mixing up a salad, and scripting a grocery list while helping with homework and answering the phone. “She sets about her work vigorously” (Proverbs 31:31:17).
God uses mother dandelions to propagate new life in baby dandelions. God opens or closes the wombs of women to bless them with no children, some children, or many children according to his perfect wisdom and love, which is mysterious to our human understanding. “As you do not know the path of the wind or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things” (Ecclesiastes 11:5).
The name “dandelion” comes from the French, meaning “lion’s tooth,” so named for the pointy edges of its leaves and the golden color of its blooms. Mothers can bear their teeth and scrunch their eyes in a scowl that makes kings of the jungle cower … and children choose God’s way instead of their own way. “Do not forsake your mother’s teaching” (Proverbs 1:8).
Dandelions tap their roots deep into the ground, pulling up nutrients to replenish the top soil. Mothers dig deep into their faith, hope and love to nourish their children and family, bringing happiness, blessedness, and rejuvenation. They do the laundry and the dishes when everybody else is too tired or busy, the fix boo-boos with band aids and kisses, they get up in the middle of the night because they are the only ones in the world who can hear their child crying. “She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom and faithful instruction is on her tongue” (Proverbs 31:25,26).
Dandelions send their seeds off in the spring winds to propagate more dandelions. Mothers sow the seeds of faith in their children, propagating believers in Jesus by the Spirit’s breath and training them in the ways of God. “I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice” (2 Timothy 1:5).
Both promote good physical health. Dandelion leaves are edible; they contain vitamins C and A and calcium, promote healthy liver and digestive system functions. Mothers make us eat our Brussels sprouts, they pack well-balanced bag lunches and don’t let us have dessert unless we clean our plate. “She provides food for her family” (Proverbs 31:15).
Once a dandelion propagates another dandelion, the new dandelion develops roots, grows, and blooms under God’s rain-and-shine care without mother dandelion’s tending. Once a child leaves mom and establishes new roots by getting married, that child grows and blooms in a new relationship that is blessed by God and independent of motherly control – but not motherly care. “A man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh” (Matthew 19:5).
Dandelions jump across boundaries and into parks, baseball fields, lawns, and golf courses unasked. Mothers cross social barriers to explore new worlds with their children, walk bravely through family conflict, and stretch their hours and hours and hours of hard work to new frontiers unasked, unforced, unearned. “She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7).
Their outward appearance changes – dandelions over a period of days, mothers over a period of years. But their roots remain, a mother’s roots deeply imbedded in the promises of God that love and bless her, her children, and all people through Jesus. “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised” (Proverbs 31:30).
PRAYER: Dear God, you love and care for your created world, and have recruited mothers to act as your agents of such love and care for their children. Thank you for the mothers of this world – for my mother – and the blessings she has brought into my life. Help me to appreciate her, honor her, and serve her. And give each mother strength, wisdom, and patience to care for her children with the joy and zeal of heaven itself. Amen.