When
I was a little girl, one of my favorite snacks was sunflower seeds. I’d crack open the shells with my teeth and
maneuver them around in my mouth until I got the prized seed. I liked the salted kind the best, even though
my tongue felt like it had swollen twice its size after eating too many!
I
still prefer unshelled sunflower seeds because I like having to “work” for the tasty
little seed. But, a few years ago, my
dentist noticed a bit of damage on my front teeth from cracking open the
shells. So, now I get the shelled seeds and sprinkle them on salads or mix them
in yogurt.
I’ve
always loved sunflowers, and obviously enjoyed eating the seeds, but I’d never
planted them. So, you can imagine my surprise when three sunflowers appeared in
my flower beds.
When
they first sprouted, I thought they were weeds.
But a friend told me they were sunflowers! She said a bird must have carried the seeds
from my neighbor’s sunflowers and dropped them in my garden beds.
I
anxiously waited as they grew and grew.
Then, the day finally came when they bloomed and their happy yellow
faces tilted up towards God.
There’s
just something special about sunflowers.
Maybe it’s the way the really tall ones can become like flower trees
with thick stalks and a huge flower.
Maybe it’s the way they tilt their faces heavenwards and follow the sun
as it moves across the sky.
We
can learn a lot from sunflowers. As we
look up and fix our eyes on Jesus, following the Son throughout the day, we become
Son followers. Then, like the sunflowers, we can drop our seeds of faith so
they’ll bloom into more Son followers.
Like
my surprise sunflowers, who knows how far that seed of faith will be carried
and then dropped at the perfect time and place in the fertile soil of someone’s
life.
Keep
lookin’ up and plantin’ seeds!
Love,
Martha
“Let
us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…” Hebrews 12:2
(NIV)
Copyright © 2013 Martha Hadley. All rights reserved
