Wishing Flowers

I recently asked a little girl, “What makes you happy?  She said, “Wishing flowers!” Her mother proceeded to explain that, a wishing flower was a dandelion that had gone to seed and that her daughter loved to make a wish and then blow— sending the fluffy white pods dancing in the air. 

I thought, isn’t it interesting how we each of us see the world through different lenses. For most, a dandelion is a dreaded weed that exists only to annoy. Yet to this little girl a dandelion was a joyous gift from God given to bring spontaneous delight in the moment and hope for the future. 

What lens do we choose to look through? Is it possible to take the negative circumstances in our own lives and in the world around us and then, as this little girl did, look for the good, and even find gifts from God in the midst of our difficulties? It is said that a pessimist sees the difficulty in the opportunity while an optimist sees the opportunity in the difficulty.

When my youngest son was in elementary school he had a teacher he did not like. My son loved structure and knowing exactly what to expect. This instructor was very random and spontaneous. He even threw a pair of tennis shoes into the air and let them dangle from the classroom ceiling for the remainder of the school year.

My son came home livid. Some of his friends had been transferred into another class where there was more structure and he begged for me to do likewise. I explained that I didn’t believe in rescuing my children. Life was going to be hard at times and he needed the opportunity to practice getting along with all kinds of people, and succeeding in all kinds of circumstances. More importantly there was good to be found in every situation if he looked for it. 

I then gave my son an expectation that he find something good about this teacher every day and share it with me when he got home from school. It didn’t take long before my son loved this instructor. In fact he had a greater influence on my sons young life than any other teacher. This teacher was enthusiastic and creative. That, in turn, inspired enthusiasm and creativity in my son. He grew to love school—especially reading and creative writing.

This experience was a blessing to my son and helped him rise to greater heights. One can only imagine what might have been lost if we had chosen to look through the lens of criticism instead of looking for the good, believing that it could be found. 

There is so much bad  and controversy in the world and there always will be. However, there is also so much good to be found if we look for it in others and in the circumstances around us. 

I invite each of us to look for the good no matter how difficult it might be, and turn a weedy annoyance into seeds of hope dancing in the air.