Sonflowers

My mom loves watching birds, so she has several feeders of different varieties to attract all kinds of birds. Sometimes, when the feeders need cleaning, my dad will dump any old seeds in a pile at the back of the yard. One day, they noticed plants growing out of that pile, and it turned out to be a beautiful little patch of sunflowers! Beauty for ashes!

For those of you who may not know, the sunflower is quite an amazing flower, in the way that it grows. A long time ago, I was asked to use sunflowers as a bridal shower theme, so I had done some research about them and was intrigued with what I read. Each day, young sunflowers follow the sun from east to west. At night, they face the east, awaiting daylight. The movement is due to uneven growth; as the heavy flower leans to the right, the left side of the stem is elongated and strengthened and vice versa. As the flowers mature they tend to face mainly east. Eastward facing adult plants are warmer and tend to attract more pollinators. I also read about some researches who were studying the growth patterns and habits of the sunflower. They tied the plant stems to a solid support so the plant could not move according to the sun’s position. It was discovered that the restricted plants did not thrive and had less growth than those that were left undisturbed.

So now let’s replace the word “sunflower” with the word “believer.” New believers follow the Son. They are eager to see what He has for them and they face Him at all times. They have uneven growth patterns as they learn about God, they get stretched during times of struggle, yet they are strengthened over time, causing them to become stronger and larger. As they mature, they have a warmth about them that attracts others, so that they too might want to become young believers, thus “pollinating” the kingdom of Heaven. We have “researchers” in our lives who will try to bind us, trying to restrict us from following the Son. They’re mission is to stop our growth; maybe because they’re afraid of it, they don’t understand it, or maybe they’re jealous of it. When we are bound and not following the Son, we cannot grow and thrive.

I want to be like a sunflower. I want to wake up every day, facing the east, awaiting the Son, ready to ask, “What do You have for me today, Lord?” What if we followed Him all day, being strengthened along the way, even though the stretching might be painful? How amazing would it be if others were attracted to our movement with Him, so much so that they would inquire about it and want to follow the Son too?