Be Like a Sunflower

Be Like a Sunflower
 
“… And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus…” Hebrews 12:1-2
 
My daughter and I recently went to a local Sunflower Farm that allows people to walk among the rows and rows of sunflowers. We took my grandson with us this time, Josiah is 4, and he loved it! He loved watching all the bees buzzing around the flowers and kept telling us how pretty the flowers were. I know he got tired of us constantly asking him to stand beside a sunflower and smile so we could take his picture lol! And yes, that's Josiah in the picture 💙  

I’ve always loved sunflowers and have been fascinated by their bright and cheery, warm and inviting, large yellow petals that seem to reflect the sun’s rays. I can’t help but thank God for His beautiful creation!  To me they are a symbol of happiness and strength.
 
Have you ever realized that you can learn a lot from a sunflower? Most people know that sunflowers always turn their faces to the sun. God created them that way.  They yearn for the sun so much that they actually turn in any direction they can to reach for it.  They crave sunshine and they flourish when they get it.  In the mornings, they sunflowers face east and slowly turn west as they follow the sun throughout the day. Then during the night, they reverse themselves so that they are ready to do it all over again the next day. They do this because they naturally know that the more sunshine they get, the bigger and better they will grow.
 
We need to do the exact same thing! We need to constantly be yearning for the “Son.”  We should be constantly seeking Him in everything we do. We should be craving time with Him, and when we do spend time with Him, we will flourish and grow. The Holy Spirit in our hearts creates that desire, that yearning for God. We may not always even notice it, but when we spend more time with God, the more we will crave God.
 
Did you know though that when a sunflower plant is grown indoors, after a short time, the habit of trying to always face the sun will stop, and consequently their growing will slow down? But outside, as long as they are facing the sun, their head is raised up, never down, never looking at their stalks to see if they are too thick, or if their leaves are wilting. And you don’t see them looking at each other, comparing who is growing the best.  Their face is fixed on the sun just as our eyes should be fixed on the Son of God.  
 
The sunflower always looks forward for the brightness of tomorrow. That’s how we should be towards the Father’s son, Jesus. Matthew 17:2 tells us, “Sunlight poured from His face” so like the sunflower, our face should always be turned toward the Son.
 
Helen Keller, who was blind, once said, “Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows.  It’s what the sunflowers do.”

Be like a sunflower. Throughout your day, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus.”
 
Have a blessed day.

~Bev