A dandelily by any other name.

It took me a long time to come up with a blog name. I’m kind of a perfectionist, and I really don’t like to have regrets, which sometimes means that I take so long to think through something that I end up not doing it. So I was pretty happy when I settled on a name, and even happier when I discovered that no one else was already using it, and happiest when my little sis (the experienced blogger) said that it was good.

If you haven’t figured it out yet, Dandelily is a combination of “dandelion” and “lily”. Don’t let the name fool you; this blog will not be about gardening. Mostly because of this:

Sorry little guy.

I don’t really remember why I was thinking about flowers during my blog-name brainstorming (probably because my mind was in an insomnia-induced frenzy at the time), but I did choose those flowers very specifically. I wanted the name to reflect what I’m trying to document with this blog, which are my attempts to choose joy and trust God, and dandelions and lilies represent those things for me.

I’ve always loved dandelions, and as a kid could never figure out why they had been deemed “weeds” instead of flowers. The have yellow tops just like the rest! And they definitely beat out all the other flowers for coolness when they change into white fluffy tops. I showered my mom with plenty of love in the form of dandelion bouquets over the years, and as the sweet mom that she is, she resigned herself to the allergies they inflicted on her. So I was pretty defensive of the little dandys whenever their flower status was insulted. 

Eventually, I learned that the definition of a weed is something that grows where you don’t want it – that even plants with accepted flower status could be weeds if they were growing in the wrong place. I thought that this offered a simple solution to weed problems: decide that you want the weeds there, and they become flowers!

Clearly, I’m not a gardener. But I do still like dandelions, and I’ve come to think about them as a symbol for how I want to live. Because life seems to be full of dandelions – circumstances that can be viewed either as commonplace annoyances or beautiful blessings. I want to start trying to see and be thankful for the blessings, because I think I’ll find joy that way. And hopefully pass it along.

I have not always loved lilies. No offense, if your name is Lily (it’s still a cute name J). Or if you’ve ever given me some. I think they smell bad, and they make me sneeze. But they do represent trust for me, because of these verses:

“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on . . . why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like on of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you?”

 – Matthew 6:25; 28-30

I don’t really worry about clothing, but I do worry about pretty much everything else. So that’s the other part of my little challenge to myself - I want to learn how to trust. I’ve always been a worrier, and I think I’ve gotten even more anxious over the years, but I’d like to see that trend reverse. The good news is that it seems God wants that for me too, so I have his help.

So there ya go – my little life philosophy in a flowery blog name. I haven’t lived this way yet. But I want to.

I realize that these first two posts have been a bit wordy, but shorter posts are on the way. If you got this far, thanks for reading! (Oh, and I should mention that many of the photos on this blog will be taken by my wonderfully obliging, talented hubby.)