My patient, collected, even tempered, and relatively pacifist husband met his match in Montana. We moved there in the early fall and the snow arrived soon after. Sure shoveling snow seemed never ending, but that isn’t what made his blood boil. We were blessed to have a large yard of thick green grass. Brandon invested a lot of time into manicuring it and keeping it in good shape. But late every spring the enemy would start to pop up.
Dandelions.
It seemed over night the entire yard was overwhelmed by the little yellow flowers. He would spend hours removing them from the lawn, to wake the next morning to still more yellow buds. The boys were his allies, popping in from outside, “Dad there are more!,” or “Look dad I pulled six this time!” It got to the point that when we were out on walks or playing at the park if we saw dandelions you could see Brandon tense up a bit and his eye start to twitch (okay maybe not the twitching part). The boys knew that if they saw the white puff they had two options— get their dad, or CAREFULLY pull it making sure that none of the seeds escaped, they definitely were not to blow it. The three men of the house were on constant guard against the weed, that is until Levi arrived. As soon as he was old enough to walk one of his favorite pass times was to kick the white puffs and watch the seeds fly. When he discovered that he wasn’t supposed to, it seemed to just add excitement to his efforts. Anytime he saw one he would look to see if anyone was watching and then kick, and POOF and hundreds of seeds would fly, finding a new patch of grass to make their home.
The whole thing was rather comical to me (though I do appreciate Brandon’s efforts). Unlike Brandon, I love dandelions. I think I could have had a lawn full of them and been happy. I find the light puff ball elegant, like little lace ornaments decorating my lawn. The way the seeds dance through the air when they are blown free from the stem is captivating.
As I have been reflecting on Easter, I keep finding my mind being drawn to my dandelion friends. After living a full life feeding bees and tormenting husbands, the yellow flower seems to close up and die, having served its pollination purpose. But seemingly out of nowhere, the seed-ball puffs up. Jesus lived, teaching and loving people, showing them God. But the crucifixion seemed to have the last say. Jesus was dead. His lifeless body was removed from the cross and laid in the tomb. It was over. But God wasn’t done. To the world’s surprise, Jesus rose. The disciples were mourning, the women were readying the preparations for the body, but God had other plans. Like the little seeds finding unexpected land to take root, God didn’t just defeat death, but he kept showing up in unexpected places— mistaken as a gardener by the tomb (John 20), in a locked house (also John 20), on a mountain (Matthew 28), on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24), cooking on the shore while the disciples fished (John 21), on the road to Damascus as a blinding light (Acts 9). Jesus kept showing up.
That truth continues to this day. Just like the dandelion seeds that are carried by the wind, Jesus is on the move. The surprise of the resurrection isn’t limited to the momentary realization that God is bigger than death. The surprise of the resurrection is that God’s spirit carries the hope, love, and life of the resurrected Lord into our present reality as well, planting seeds that transform us into the body of Christ here and now. God is at work in this world- in our neighborhoods, in our homes, in our hearts—in intimate friendships that began at a community book group, in a friendly Easter morning hug between a toddler and 90 year old woman, in the blessing of pregnancy after miscarriage, in the quiet company of family who gather to grieve the passing of a matriarch, when school friendships lead to a church family, when complete strangers become brothers and sisters through authentic relationships and love, when sharing moments of gratitude lead to recognizing blessings. God shows up where we least expect it and we are changed by it, blessed by it, recognize God more clearly because of it.
May you see God in the week ahead, showing up where you least expect it. Christ IS risen.
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