The beauty of the Sunflower

Recently, the Lord has drawn my attention to the sunflower and I felt led to do some research on this beautiful plant. I was expecting to learn something new about God because the Bible says in Psalm 19 "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge" however I didn't expect to learn something so PHENOMENAL.

The sunflower is a beautiful plant. It looks like the sun. It is often given as a gift to cheer someone up. It is regarded as the happiest plant. It is also regarded as a loyal plant. The sunflower has so many uses. Its seeds are eaten as a tasty snack. The seeds also produce sunflower oil which can be used for cooking, margarine or salads. You can also make flour from sunflower seeds which can be used to bake. Sunflower oil can also be used to make cosmetic products like shampoo, lip balm, lotion etc. Sunflower seeds is also eaten by animals and birds as food. The sunflower is also a bees delight as it produces a lot of honey. The stalk of a sunflower can also be used to make paper etc. 

Now these are wonderful features however what makes the sunflower so special is what I'm about to share.

When a sunflower is at the growth stage the sunflower follows the sun and its stalk grows toward light. It tilts during the day to face the sun. When it reaches maturity i.e. the flowers are in full bloom it stops tilting towards the sun and faces East permanently.  

I wondered why it stopped tracking the sun when it's mature and also why it's faces East. So I did some more research and realised that the sun rises from the East and sets in the West. So when it is mature instead of tracking the sun, it decides to face where the sun rises from permanently. 

This is quite deep and we can learn a lot from this loyal plant called the Sunflower. 

As human beings, as we grow and spend our lives on earth we ought to follow the SON. We ought to look to the SON for sustenance and for growth. Without the SON we would wither and die and never reach full potential. We would never bloom. However as we follow the SON, we would reach our full potential. We would grow, we would blossom. By the time we reach full maturity and we are blooming, we already know the SON based on our relationship in our growth years and so like the sunflower does when it reaches maturity by facing East where the sun rises, we must face the SON permanently and rest in His presence. Once morning comes because we are in alignment with the SON, we are immediately immersed in His presence and when we die we continue in HIs presence in eternity.

The SON I'm referring to is the LORD Jesus Christ. The Son of God, who is God himself. Without Him we are nothing. Without Him we can't have a fulfilled life. Without Him we won't reach our full potential. Without Him we would wither and die. With Him we would live a fulfilled life. With Him we would bear fruit just like the Sunflower bears fruit. With Him we would bring joy to all who come in contact with us. We would bring light. With Him we would deepen our relationship and grow to love Him and we would remain in His presence in this life and the next. 

Also like the sunflower, night comes and  there are moments in our life where there is darkness however the Sunflower in maturity knows that morning will definitely come. It is  just a matter of time and so it waits and faces East permanently. The same way we must have hope that Morning will come and God will be there. We must sit and wait for Him. We must sit in His presence.

I hope you are encouraged to turn towards the SON. To spend your life in pursuit of HIM. That way you would have a fulfilled life and would be prosperous in every aspect of your life. You will live the abundant life. You would bear fruit and be a blessing to the world and you will remain with Him in eternity when you leave this temporary place. 

God bless you.