Withdrawing To Get A Better Look

Dandelion Fluff

Have you ever looked at the life cycle of a dandelion? Those incredible yellow flowers, or weeds, which spring up all over the grass as soon as spring arrives. To some people, they look pretty. To others, they’re a menace to be weeded out and discarded forever. The first life of the dandelion consists of that little yellow flower that just seems to never go away.

Then, for those that do survive the first cycle of life, the dandelion suddenly and magically turns into nothing more than fluff. On the surface, this fluff looks very harmless. When a wind comes along, the fluff is blown away and the dandelion is never to be seen again.

At least for a season…

Impacting Your Environment

The dandelion fluff, which marks the end of a season, or life cycle, for the dandelion may look harmless. But, for those who really know what’s going on, the fluff is merely planting the harvest for the next crop of dandelions. The fluff goes to seed and lays dormant until the dandelion growing season hits once again.

From time to time it’s important for us to step back and see what’s going on in our life. A journal entry from Thomas Merton in June of 1960 says the following;

“To see better means we need to gain perspective. That sometimes means a withdrawal, or a stepping back from the machinery of life.”

Stepping back from the machinery of life…
Just let those words sink in for a moment.

All too often, the machinery of life adds to the chaos and noise of life as we navigate through this journey we call life. From time to time, we must step back so we can gain perspective on what’s going on around us. Or, sometimes we need to step back so we can gain perspective on what’s going on in our own lives. It’s during these times of reflection, these times of stepping back, that we truly gain the perspective we need to make sense of what’s going on around us.

In my final year of Seminary I took a class on the Historical Books from the Old Testament. Up until that time, I usually had little to no difficulty working on the various assignments pertaining to Bible study and Bible study methods. However, for some reason I had a block when it came to working through lessons found in the Old Testament historical books. All I saw was a collection of names, facts, and what I considered to be useless information.

However, one day that all changed as I sat in my Professor’s office lamenting the fact I didn’t see anything! He looked at me and said, “It’s because you’re too close to the material. You’re working too hard in trying to figure out what’s going on.” He then said, “Take off your glasses.” I told him if I did that, I would see nothing at all! He laughed and said, “Take off your glasses, hold them over your shoulder like you’re holding them up for God to use.”

The Professor then said something that totally changed the way I looked at not only the Scripture passage, but even the situation. The Professor said, “Now, ask God what He sees here.”

Wow! What a transformation of attitude in looking at something. I believe that’s what Merton touches on when he says we need to step away to get perspective. Sometimes it’s the stepping away, and even asking God to show us what He sees in a given situation, where truly find answers for the journey.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus