by Kathy Neufeld Dunn, Associate Conference Minister

I don’t know about you, but my yard has way too many dandelions in it this year!  I struggle each year to decide if I should try to exterminate them with a chemical, uproot them with a spade, or just allow them to be food for bees.  Maybe it doesn’t matter. They just seem to come back anyway. 

This led me to think about the kingdom of God.  Jesus told many parables about the kingdom. The kingdom of God is like a sower planting seeds, or like yeast in dough, or a mustard seed.  When I learned that Middle Eastern mustard seeds grow into kind of shaggy, unkempt, but really hardy plants that reproduce well, that made me begin to think of dandelions, which are quite similar in their nature. 

What about us and our churches?  Do we reproduce well, not waiting until we have everything “perfect” before sharing the good news or are we trying very hard to become beautiful in every way before we allow the Holy Spirit to blow us out of the greenhouse and into the wild blue yonder?   

Dandelions don’t wait for much of anything except maturity.  Then they allow the Wind to take them where It will, disperse them over the land, to multiply in unexpected places.  Some of them are unwanted, so they are dug up, but many more flourish and continue to reproduce. Some dandelions that have been seemingly uprooted come back again and again.  Is our faith and our desire to share the love of God this strong? 

May we followers of Jesus be just as tenacious and trusting when it comes to sharing the good news wherever the winds of the Spirit take us.