Sunflower

“Could we but live more entirely in the unseen Presence,
and trust to the unseen support,—and if lonely, or disappointed, or depressed, turn more quickly to God,
fully confident of His all-embracing care…
how different life would be from what it ordinarily is!”
~T.T. Carter~

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
~Lamentations 3:22-23~

One fascinating trait the sunflower so keenly models to believers is that its face follows the sun’s arc. This is a picture of faithfulness at its finest:  positioning oneself in order that we always face the Son. Indeed, the sunflower is a true representation of loyalty and devotion, symbolic of faith.

What, exactly, is faith, especially in a culture where “faith” seems to have lost its impact? In Hebrew, the root word behind faith means to support, confirm, be faithful; one aspect of faithfulness, then, is watchfulness, especially in times of discouragement. Might I suggest that we shift paradigms and, instead of feeling our own sometimes shallow or faltering faith, consider His faithfulness to us, and how, as the age-old hymn suggests—“His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.”

It is in the place where I am already feeling not enough that I can close my eyes, center my soul on His purpose for me in this minute, this hour, this day that awaits me with expectantancy. I fix my purpose on Him. I fix my expectation on Him. I fix my affirmations toward Him, so that I can still be a segue of grace, light, joy, and happiness to those around me, because of His faithfulness, and because His eyes are on me.

Too often, I fixate on broken relationships, and I grow languid at failed attempts at reconciliation, but 1 Thessalonians 4:13 exhorts me to take courage and to “not grieve as those who have no hope.” When I focus on His faithfulness to me in the midst of the heartbreaks of this life, He fills me with hope and happiness.

I am reminded of Leonardo Fibonacci, who grew up as a subject of ridicule, and yet who is credited with the discovery of the number pattern that is nature’s blueprint, describing “how living things such as flowers grow in an orderly, harmonious way” (Joseph D’Agnese, Blockhead: The Life of Fibonacci). For many years, discouragement surrounded Fibonacci, but he didn’t allow the chorus of negativity to drown out his fascination and awe of discovering God and number patterns in creation. May we not lose our sense of direction, nor our sense of the wondrous proportion of His presence that our Father wants to instill in us. We are persuaded by another well-loved hymn by Helen Lemmel to:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
in the light of His glory and grace.

“Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises, he will appear.”
~Hosea 6:3~

“We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
~2 Chronicles 20:12~

“I lift my eyes up to the mountains—where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life;
The Lord will watch over your coming and going both
now and forevermore.”
~Psalm 121:1- NIV~

“Faith is a grasping of Almighty power;
The hand of man laid on the arm of God;
The grand and blessed hour
In which the things, impossible to me,
Become the possible, O Lord, through Thee.”
~Anna E. Hamilton~