Dandelion Hearts
“The fountain of your pleasure is found in the sacrifice of my shattered heart before you. You will not despise my tenderness as I humbly bow down at your feet.” — Psalms 51:17 TPT
When I was a little girl I used to give my mom bouquets of dandelions. I always knew that she loved flowers. In the summer months, she was usually found outside on her hands and knees tending to her flower beds and garden. Our house would often smell like lilacs or roses or whatever other bouquet she had cut and placed in the center of our kitchen table. From the first crocus bulbs blooming in the spring until the last mum withered from the fall frost, my mom was surrounded by the beauty of her flowers.
I knew from a young age that I wasn’t allowed to pick her flowers and respected that they were not mine to pick. The only thing I could give her were the dandelions that would spring up in our yard. I would go outside and run through our yard picking as many as I could fit in my tiny hands (many times just the heads made it into my collection) and when I could carry no more, I would run in the house and present her with my gift. Oh, how her face would light up, “My favorite!” she would exclaim as she pulled down a small glass vase, fill it with water and arrange my gift so lovingly. Then she would place them right beside her beautiful, fragrant bouquet in the middle of her kitchen table for all the house to see.
I had so little to offer her and it was worthless in comparison to what she already owned, but she treasured my gift like it was priceless.
What a beautiful picture of our Father’s heart! The heart we have to offer Him is but a handful of dandelions by comparison to all the riches and treasures that He already owns. But when we show up, our tiny hands filled up with our surrendered heart, His face lights up and He exclaims, “My favorite.” Our surrendered life, while meager in comparison, is a prized possession to our God.
Like those dandelions our heart is nothing to write home about, it has been broken and scarred, calloused and bruised. There’s no beauty in the offering but the offering in and of itself is beautiful. We could never give God what He deserves to receive, the mere thought is utter foolishness and I am so grateful that He doesn’t require it. He isn’t looking down on earth trying to find a perfect heart to accept as a sacrifice because Jesus already did that. What He is looking for is a broken and repentant heart, for a sacrifice offered in the right spirit. I know I don’t have to have it all together in order to come to God and lay my life down on the altar. He takes my mess, my broken heart, and calls it His prize possession! (James 1:18)
Now here’s where it gets really rad...God takes our dandelion hearts and gives us new hearts in return! He doesn’t just mend up our broken offerings, He gives us brand new ones to take their place. This isn’t about us giving something to Him, I mean come on, He’s God what in the world could we ever hope to offer Him that He is in need of? No, this is more than that, this is us surrendering in order for God to replace it with something insurmountably better! He wants us to hand over our dandelions so He can bestow us with roses, or orchids, or whatever else flower suits your fancy. So what the question really comes down to isn’t what state is your heart in but do you trust Him enough to hand over what you’ve known for the better that He has promised?
Daddy, thank you for not expecting me to have it all together before You will accept the offering I bring You. Thank you for seeing the beauty in my dandelions. I can never deserve Your goodness, Your kindness, and Your love yet You pour it out anyway without measure. You have no need for my heart, but I desperately need the one that you give me in its place. Help me to remember that it’s not about the state of the gift, but about the empty place it leaves, the opportunity for You to come and fill it up again. This whole surrender thing is for my good, not Your own, and therefore yet another testament to how ridiculously good You are to me. I love You because You first loved me and I pray my heart will be a beautiful reflection of Your own.
Amen
Written by Amanda Strauser