The Dandelion

Little Tommy could always be found just hanging out with Grandpa. They had a relationship from the moment he was born as his Daddy had left his Mommy before he even came into this world. Today, Tommy was only 3 years-old.

Grandpa and Tommy would always be outside. It seemed as this was where his Grandpa taught him his best lessons about life. Lessons, he would never forget.

Grandpa lived with them as his wife had passed years ago and Mommy just needed someone around the house to help out with Tommy as she ran her errands.

Mommy liked having him around too as he would always sit with her after Tommy had gone to bed and chat for hours until they both were too tired to stay awake.

One sunny Saturday afternoon, Tommy and Grandpa were, once again, roaming around the yard. Mommy watched from the kitchen window with a quaint smile as she washed the dishes from breakfast.

At one point, she saw Tommy and Grandpa sitting on the ground, cross-legged, with a tiny little dandelion between them. Grandpa seem to be telling another one of his stories as she could see Tommy rapt in his conversation.

Grandpa reached down and plucked the little dandelion from the ground and held it between his wrinkled fingers. He brought it up to Tommy’s eyes and told him this story:

“This little flower is so beautiful, don’t you think? I want you to remember something about this dandelion and never forget son. I want you to know how much God Loves you. Jesus told us all about this in the Bible”

Matthew 6:28-30 – “See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you?”

“I want you to remember this lesson always Tommy. God Loves us unconditionally and as long as we believe in God and Jesus, our worries will be few and our live will be eternal.”

After Grandpa was done telling Tommy how much God Loves him and that he should never forget, Tommy took the dandelion from Grandpa’s hand and ran into the shed in the back yard.

He then grabbed an old flower pot that was lying on the floor, ran back outside and began digging his little hands in the dirt… filling the flower pot to the brim. When the pot was full, he then took the dandelion and stuck it down into the dirt.

Grandpa watched him with a big grin on his faced and asked him, “Whatcha doin’ boy?” Tommy eagerly responded, “I want to save this little flower grandpa. I want to remember how much God Loves us and how He promises us eternal life in Heaven.”

Grandpa just smiled bigger and said, “Good job son! Let’s put it in your bedroom window so you can wake-up to it every morning and give thanks to God.”

A year passed by quickly and Grandpa became ill. He was quite old now and Mommy knew his time was near. He was in the hospital now and fading fast but, every time that Tommy came to see him, he would muster-up a smile and pat his head with his shaking hands and say… “I Love you Son!”

On the day Grandpa passed, Tommy brought the little dandelion to the hospital. He thought it might cheer Grandpa up and make him better. Unfortunately, Grandpa never saw him that day as he left to go to Heaven.

Mommy was devastated. She had just lost her Father and her Son’s best friend. Life was hard enough and now they were forced to go through this grief. Whatever was she going to do to make it through now?

One day, Mommy was sitting quietly at the kitchen table, sipping on coffee and staring out the window. She was struggling to determine ways she and her little boy were going to get by now, alone.

Tommy came in carrying his little flower pot. Sadly, the little dandelion had wilted and no longer glowed with the sunshine it had always had. Nonetheless, to Tommy, this was Grandpa’s lesson and now he wanted to share it with Mommy.

“Mommy,” Tommy whispered, “You see this little flower? Do you know that God Loves this little flower a lot, but He Loves us even more? He will help us.”

Mommy smiled and said, “I know Tommy, but I think it’s time we throw that wilted little flower away. You’re just getting dirt all over the carpet when you carry it throughout the house.”

Tommy didn’t heed his Mother’s suggestion. Instead, after bowing his little head and turning away, he brought it back into hit bedroom and placed it back on the window. This was Grandpa’s lesson and he promised he would never forget.

Several more years past and tragedy struck. Tommy came down with an incurable illness. The doctors told Mommy that her son had very little chances of survival and may only be around for a month or less. She was heartbroken.

One day, as they prepared for another trip to the hospital for further treatment, Tommy came out of his room carrying that little flower pot with the seemingly dead dandelion.

“Tommy, throw that damn thing away! You’re not bringing that with us!” Mommy, was clearly upset and had no patience for that little pot of dirt.

Tommy took the little pot back to his room and set it, once again, on the window sill. He then grabbed a sheet of paper, wrote something down and placed it under the flower pot.

He then looked-up to Heaven, said a little prayer, and bent down and gently kissed the wilting stem in the soil. When he was done, he and Mommy left for the hospital.

Little Tommy passed that afternoon while undergoing his treatment. Mommy cried uncontrollably for what seemed like weeks.

A month or so had passed and Mommy made a decision to move out of the house and into her sister’s home a few hundred miles away. She simply couldn’t bear with the grief she felt every time she walked throughout the house.

Her sister came down to help Mommy pack-up the house and bring her back home to hers. As Mommy taped-up another box in the living room, her sister called to her from Tommy’s room, “I think there is something here you need to see.”

Mommy stopped what she was doing and walked into Tommy’s room. As she entered the doorway, she stopped abruptly and steadied herself between the doorframe.

She glanced at her sister standing by the window but immediately looked down at the window sill. There, glowing like the Sun and standing taller than it ever had, was the little dandelion that she thought had long passed.

Her sister took her hand in hers and laid the little note she found beneath the flower pot in her palm. Mommy read the note in a whisper with tears raining down her cheeks:

“Mommy, I Love you and I want you to know about something. I want you to know about the flowers outside and how much God cares for them. But even more better, I want you to know that God Loves us even more… Grandpa, you and me! I am going to be with Grandpa, Jesus and God now to start all over, but I can’t wait to see you again.” Love Tommy.

Mommy then dropped to her knees, folded her hands and bowed her head… and through a stream of tears she said, “I thank you God, I thank you Jesus and I am grateful for your Love. Please take care of my Dad and little boy and let them know I will see them someday soon again!”

Grandpa knew. Tommy knew… and now, through the Glory and compassion of God… Mommy knows. Mommy now understands that death on Earth is not an ending but, as her little boy and Jesus explained it, a new beginning!

Mommy now attends church regularly and prays every day and sings praises in the local choir. She smiles upon the dandelions in the dewy grass in the morning and still tends to her little boy’s flower pot. Following Grandpa and her son, she now has taken God’s path. Her grief has been cleansed and her understanding greatened. Glory be to God in Heaven!