“It was in a little wood in early morning. The sun was climbing behind a steep cliff in the east,… its light… flooding nearer and nearer… making pools among the trees. Suddenly, from a dark corner of purple brown stems and tawny moss, there shone out a great golden star!
“It was just a dandelion, and half withered — but it was full face to the sun, and had caught into its heart all the glory it could hold, and was shining so radiantly that the dew that lay on it still made a perfect aureole round its head. And it seemed to talk, standing there—to talk about the possibility of making the very best of these lives of ours.
“For if the Sun of Righteousness has risen upon our hearts, there is an ocean of grace and love lying all around us, an ocean to which all earthly light is but a drop, and it is ready to transfigure us, as the sun transfigured the dandelion, and on the same condition — that we stand full face to God… intent on Christ.”
–I. Lilias Trotter
…..
“They looked to Him and were radiant…”
-Psalm 34:5
*****
Linked to
Lovely. Both words and photos that draw it together so beautifully.
Hi Joanne,
Thank you for kind encouragement. I wish I had a dandelion with dew on it, shining and making an aureole, like she said. But I guess the idea comes across anyhow…
God bless your day!
Love I. Lilias Trotter AND dandelions! =)
Love how you found that radiant face in the dark corner. Wonderful lesson of how we shine with the right focus.
Ah, Patricia, you know Lilias Trotter! It seems so few do. I too love the things she wrote, her thoughts about God and dedication to Him, and the spirit that must have been hers. And yep, I’ve come to love dandelions as well! Glad you stopped by and commented!
Hi Sandra,
I didn’t find quite what Lilias Trotter described in her little parable, but I knew I’d seen the same thing, and did the best I could to come close. Glad it spoke to you as it did to me.
there is an ocean of grace and love lying all around us, an ocean to which all earthly light is but a drop, and it is ready to transfigure us…
I am in the crowd who does not know Trotter, but I certainly was encouraged by her words today. Thank you for sharing them. As I go to the ocean of grace and love this morning I seek transfiguration.
In anticipation,
Dawn
Hope you had a beautiful “dip” in the “ocean,” Dawn!
Recommended reading: A Passion for the Impossible by Miriam Huffman Rockness. I know you like biographies, and this is a good one of Lilias Trotter. It also has a few selections from her writings at the back (including the one above). If you read this bio first, her Parables of the Christ-Life and Parables of the Cross, recently reprinted (after nearly disappearing), will be even more meaningful.
Wow. Beautiful illustration. Thank you for sharing!