December Dandelions

“They will still yield fruit in old age; They shall be full of sap and very green,” -Ps. 92:14

While retrieving the school sign out front at the end of another school day, my eye was arrested by a yellow flash on the ground in the midst of an otherwise colorless lawn-scape. It was a dandelion stubbornly blooming in the heart of December. I have been thinking about December dandelions ever since. There certainly are not many of them still intent upon lighting up a lawn. This one hugged the earth closely, just barely raising its yellow hand up towards the sky. But there it was, a holdout against winter, a defiant flash of life amidst winter’s grey. Did it not get the word? Such blooms are supposed to go quietly into oblivion this time of year.

I read just last week of an 80 year old woman who also refused to go quietly into the sunset. Another December dandelion. She apparently also did not get the word that old folks are past their prime and need to retire to the sidelines like most sensible persons do. And certainly, she, who knew nothing of Facebook, You-Tube, texting, tweeting, or smart-phones, was obviously a world removed from today’s modern college student. Yet she took it upon herself to begin a letter writing ministry to her church’s college freshmen, away from home for the first time and awash in untold distractions and temptations. She not only wrote them, she wrote them every week. And she prayed. She prayed God’s best for them and that they would find a good church home in their new environment. She looked forward to seeing them at Thanksgiving and Christmas. The result? Church members reported that the “students sought her out and rushed to give her hugs and to say, ‘Thank you,” whenever they came home.” So much for the much ballyhooed generation gap. So much for our constant efforts to shuttle off our church members into age-segregated settings where they can safely relate to their own.

Serious study has shown and demonstrated that this cross generational cross pollination of faith is incredibly important in transferring our beliefs to the second and third generations that follow after us. If our youth do not see faith in action in our lives, woven into the events and values of everyday life, they are much more likely to forsake the faith of their fathers. Putting on a show of faith, going through the motions, does not make a very deep impression. The young usually see through it. But a faith that colors everyday decisions, that confesses mistakes and shortcomings, that deals with temptation and forgiveness in very real terms is a faith that impacts our children and grandchildren in deep and permanent ways.

In this respect, there is always work to be done and a reason for every person, regardless of age, to be on task and mission for God. It is a mission that does not require mobility, financial support, or technological savvy. It simply requires an openness and concern for others, an honesty and transparency to share the important things in life, and the confidence in God that He is still the same today, yesterday, and forever. Our story today is of a grandmother who knew we are all just people in need of God’s touch, regardless of age. It is the story of one who knew there was still work to be done and was willing to do it; willing to be intentionally used by God to touch others.

I remember those days when as a young and lonely freshman, I would eagerly check my college mailbox everyday looking for some connection from home. There were many grey days and weeks when the only mail I found was the college generated junk mail. What would I have given for a touch from a godly grandmother who knew my name and lifted it up in weekly prayer? How much would it have meant to have a December dandelion in my life? A lot. A whole lot. And now that I am entering the December of my life, I pray I do not go quietly. May others still see a flash of yellow amidst the grey. Resolve with me to do likewise.

May the message of God’s mercy and truth be born afresh in us this Christmas,
Mr. Moe