The Sunflowers SonShine
I was in the midst of one of the busiest weeks I have had for a long time and spinning at least six plates all at once, trying to coordinate it all. I’m sure we’ve all had weeks like that. I decided I needed to slow down and give all the details of all the planning to God. So I took a few deep breaths and took a walk around the block in my semi-rural neighborhood around 7pm as the sun was setting. The evening air was humid, but refreshing. I passed by all the houses as usual, causally waving hello to neighbors walking their dogs, when suddenly something caught my attention.
I saw a row of about 15 sunflowers all lined up and with eager faces in one of my neighbors front yard. What was odd is that they were eagerly facing east, ready to greet tomorrow’s sunrise, with the setting sun behind them. They were literally ignoring it. I’d always heard that sunflowers turn their heads to face the sun as it made it’s journey across the sky.
I began to ponder, was the sun brighter in the morning? Why were they still facing east at the end of the day? Clearly they missed an entire afternoon of sunshine as the sun headed for it’s western night cap.
I decided to ask God what He wanted me to know about this, and was surprised at what I sensed Him telling me. These sunflowers count on the sun to come up in the East. It is brighter and more intense in the morning, and after a long night with no sun, they need that first bathing of morning light more than they need that light at the end of the day.
In the same way, we too can come to rely on the sun rise. The Son has already risen and for Christians He has already risen in our hearts. We can turn our hearts and minds in that direction, that He is risen. No matter how dark our night has been that is the one constant that we can be assured of. He can rise in our hearts at any time we turn our face to Him because He is always there for us.
He also impressed on my heart that light is brighter than darkness and always dispels it. When we look to the Lord and His light, to His resurrection power that over came death itself, nothing can vanquish the hope we have of everlasting life. No trial is bigger than death itself! So we put our hope in Him, in His victory over death, disease and diminishment of who we are created to be. We cannot let the enemy turn our faces in the wrong direction.
Ponder:
The question is do we realize how much we need Him? Are we standing ready and alert, like these sunflowers, to welcome Him in each morning? Are we aware of His presence throughout our day as He follows us through our lives and every day activities?
Just as the sunflower is made for the sun, we are made for the Son.
He wants to meet us in the grave, the darkness, and our days of mourning – to call us out and help us find His life again. No matter how alone or forsaken we feel, we can always know His love and presence and invite Him to rise in our hearts. He renews us every morning. Great is His faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22-23).
Meditation: (Either one or both of these verses)
Read these verses below out loud several times, pausing in between to journal. As you do, notice which words or concepts the Holy Spirit highlights for you and write them down, sit with them. Then discuss those with the Lord. Ask Him, “God what do you want me to know about this verse, what do you have for me?” You can be curious and formulate other questions too- you are never limited- He loves to answer. Surrender and quiet yourself and listen to His Spirit- you may be surprised what you receive.
Readings:
Lamentations 3:22–23 – The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Psalm 30:5– For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning
Questions (If needed):
God, where (in what areas) has darkness fallen around my heart to turn my face away from looking to you? Where do I need to look instead?
I sensed Him saying I look to things ‘going as they should’, or ‘being easy’, instead of looking to God to give me the strength to get through them. Life isn’t easy- period. If I expect it to be, I will be disappointed, angry, frustrated. But His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:30). I can eagerly anticipate the Lord being there for me, no matter how hard the situation.
Journal:
When you take a few breaths and slow down, it’s amazing what you notice. And then when you take a few deeper steps toward conversing with God about what you notice- that’s when the whole world and everything in it comes into sharper focus. That’s when you can say you are living truly in the moment, and all the distractions have disappeared as you are communing with your creator. As you write these things down, you can revisit them later and even add to them. I sometimes go back to my journaling day after day, or after weeks or months, and something new arises each time.
Noticing:
Isn’t it sad how we normally go through our days not noticing anything except the banter in our minds, that not only drives us crazy, but also keeps us out of the present moment, which means, keeps us out of seeing Jesus in our moments.
We’ve only been given so many moments to live on this earth. Wouldn’t you want to spend as many as possible with Jesus, gaining His wisdom, instead of being in your own head? It takes practice but it can be accomplished, because we are made for exactly this!
P.S. An interesting fact: I later learned that sunflowers only follow the sun when they are very young, not when they mature. They continue facing east then, because the benefit is that it lets the flower warm up quickly and attracts more pollinators.
Denice MacKenzie