Follow the Light

I find sunflowers to be amazing!  Every year, my daughter and I attend a Sunflower Festival in New Hampshire.  As you enter the parking lot, you see acres and acres of sunflowers.  It is so breathtaking.  We wander the fields and are able to cut some and bring them home to revel in their continued beauty.  Usually, we cut some of the larger flowers, but this time, we focused on some of the smaller ones and marveled at their beauty.                      

Sunflowers stand so tall, well above the average person.  Their stalks are strong; although the flower head can be well over a foot in diameter, the stalks never fall over.  The bees get to their job and pollinate from flower to flower.  Yet, the most amazing feature is how they follow the sun.  Their heads actually turn to where the sun is.  It is incredible!  There is much science to this, but to me, it is the wonder of God.

The sunflower can teach us so much about how we should live our lives with Jesus.   Let us explore a few:

Follow the sun:  As Jesus shares in this verse, if we follow Him, the Son, we will never walk in darkness.  Jesus brings light to all of our darkness.  By walking in His light, as the sunflower follows the light, we will grow strong in our faith.  Holding onto Jesus’ light can bring us out of the difficult situations in our lives and provide us hope.

Stand tall: Be a sunflower stalk.  Stand tall in your faith.  There is much in this world that can have us hang our heads low or fall over in despair.  My friends, our faith in Jesus should help us to stand tall in this world and shine our flowers to all those around us.

Be a pollinator:  Get busy as a bee and share Jesus’ love to all the sunflowers around us!  Go to the people around us and share the light that you walk in.   Different people may need different things from us.  Some may need to hear the Word of God.  Others may need you to hold their hand.  Others may need a prayer of healing.  In all instances, be the pollinator of Jesus’ love.

Whether your ‘flower’ is large and broad or your ‘flower’ is small and reserved, by following Jesus’ light we can all be a sunflower to the world around us. Follow the Son, stand tall in your faith and be a pollinator of Jesus’ love to all you meet.  Find joy in the simple faith that brings us to Jesus!

Dearest Jesus, help us to take lessons from the sunflower.  May we always follow you, the Son of God, and may your light shine upon us and bring us the hope and peace we need.  Amen!