Finding My Voice, Discussion Guide

I am a Dandelion. "Since we lived in the worst part of the city, every day when I walked to work, I walked past the heartache, suffering, and plight of the drug-addicted and homeless. It was on one of those walks that I was stopped dead in my tracks. I noticed a vibrant yellow dandelion, blooming ever-so-brightly, that had pushed its way up and through hard asphalt. I marveled at the sharp colour, the strength and tenacity of life itself that was not held back by its situation, by its circumstances. As I paused to appreciate the beauty of a weed, I also admired its inherent desire for life. In a few more steps I'd be at work with dear broken, hurting bodies and souls that were eating out of garbage cans, living on the street. Castaways of our culture; those we don't want to touch or be near; parts of ourselves we don't want to look at. And my eyes would see the beauty, the vibrancy of life in their eyes. Just as I could love the beauty and tenacity in that dandelion, I could see and love that in hurting people. I, too, have pushed through that hard, hot asphalt that looked impossible. I, too, have been loved when I seemed unlovable. I am a dandelion, a weed with little perceived value, finding the tenacity, the strength and determination to grow through impossible places. My miracle is not only me learning to love myself, but the greater miracle of allowing God's love to redeem me, allowing others to love me. Taking what felt unattainable to me, making healing my reality. I burst out through the hard asphalt of my struggle into a bubbling spring of refreshing, life-giving joy. Because I have heard the Voice of Love." Seeing beauty in the dandelion, beauty in homeless people's faces, beauty in the face of innocent children, helped her heal her own heart. This book will help you to find the beauty within.