The Fshbwl

He [Jesus] set the book of nature before me and I saw that all the flowers He created are lovely. The splendour of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not rob the little violet of its scent nor the daisy of its simple charm. - Saint Therese of Lisieux

“Those aren’t flowers sweetie ... they're weeds.” Those words are still etched into the recesses of my memory. I don’t imagine that my mother was being purposely malicious. On the contrary, I think she was just trying to teach her young boy that dandelions aren’t flowers, they’re weeds. I remember being so confused. After all, the dandelion was a beautiful bright yellow. It seemed to me to be a flower. But, to be honest, the coolest part was taking an old dandelion and blowing the seeds all over the yard so that in the following year the yard would be littered with the ... weed. I’m still not sure why it’s called a weed. The French give it the name dent-de-lion which is literally, lion’s tooth, referring to the sharp looking leaves of the plant head. To be honest, my ability to know and name the flora of the world, or those in my own yard, is far from perfected. My wife patiently explains and names each flower. Some she likes better than others; the lily (which she can only keep two days before breaking into a fit of sneezes), the daisy and of course the iris. As for me, I still like the dandelion. Even though this conversation with my mother was 20 years ago, I know today, without a doubt, that a dandelion is nothing but a weed and that I shouldn’t blow the seeds (which is called dandelion clock by the way) all over the yard so as to avoid an outbreak of the terrible weed. But one thing I know .... I love the dandelion!

Saint Therese of Lisieux was a 20 year old nun dying in a place that many would consider insignificant, a convent where life was filled with prayer and meditation but with incredibly difficult living conditions. But for a 20 year old girl, she had incredible insight into the world’s peopled meadows. So much so, that she was sainted a mere 28 years after her death and is now considered a doctored teacher of the Roman Catholic Church. What was it that Saint Therese taught that would so win the affections of the church? Simple: be the flower you were created to be. For Therese, this was a simple profundity; for she desired to be something great ... like a saint who was martyred for the faith, not some simple girl. She shares a story of her sister bringing some old dolls, clothes, ribbons, etc. with which Therese and her sister Celine might play. Therese stretched out her hand and declared, “I choose everything” (9). Yet, over time, Therese came to understand her own selfishness as a meadow filled only with roses. She laments that spring would lose its loveliness if this were the true state of the world.

What Therese teaches is that all people are of value, whether great or small. There is no distinction between the flower and the weed, for God created both and declared both to be good and of value. But for Therese, one didn’t recognize what kind of flower one was until they simply succumbed to the will of God. Therese came to understand that she was not a rose, or an iris, or a lily, rather she was God’s “little” wild flower, giving the world’s peopled meadow a radiant, brilliant color palate. Under God’s will, one finds pleasure not only in the flowers, but also in the weeds. All of creation is viewed as precious, beautiful and of value, for the God of Christianity desires that all people come to know him and be known by him. For Therese, she found that she was not called to do or be everything for everyone, but to be herself under God’s will and serve in the ways she could, in the little ways.

I’m guessing, however, that you often feel the need to look like others, to be great in the world like that one guy, and yet, in your gut, know that you aren’t like others or even great ... I know I do. I often feel like a weed among a world of flowers. I don’t quite fit in with others; I don’t have all the right things, or know all the correct answers. I don’t look like others. Maybe you feel like that. Maybe you feel like a weed among flowers. I feel like I’m always being compared to the lily, rose or iris ... and I just want to scream ... 'listen, I’m a dandelion damn it!' Maybe as you encounter the Christian faith, this is far too true, a world of flowers and weeds. Maybe you’ve had a poor experience with someone claiming Christ as savior telling you to be a certain way or do a certain thing. I’m sorry. I believe that God has created you unique, to be like no one else, to serve the world in a way no other person can ... be that in great ways or in small ways, as a rose or a stinkin’ dandelion.

God does not desire a world of limited beauty, but a meadow overflowing with beauty, each person unique and colorful in a world that is far too grey. God desires a world where every person serves his neighbor with, as C.S. Lewis, a professor of Literature at Cambridge, says, a disinterested love, a love which expects nothing in return. This was the revelation received by Therese in the tiny town of Lisieux ... to love and to serve all humanity in the ways God has created her to do. Therese’s “little” way would take her anywhere if it meant seeing a world full of vibrancy and color, even to hell and back. We don’t need a world of us’s and them’s, but one that loves the neighbor for no other reason than that; he is a neighbor. When we do that, we will all be one step closer to the way God created us to be.

Suggested Prayer:Almighty God, heavenly Father, you are the creator of all that we see and know. We thank you for the beauty and splendor of your creation ... for the flowers and the weeds. Instill in us a desire to be under your will, to love all people, and to be the person you have created us to be. Amen.