For me, sunflowers evoke some sweet, strong memories. The fields of sunflowers in North Dakota are forever etched in my memory. Sugar beets, the north flowing Red River and the sunflowers.
My Daschner side of the family has roots near Fargo, ND. We visited a couple of times when I was a kid. For us, it was a real adventure into new farming landscapes. Sugar beets and sunflower fields were abundant.
For those who don't know... young sunflowers turn to follow the sun. NPR posted an article about new discoveries as to why that phenomenon occurs. Sunflowers... like we humans... have an "internal clock" set for 24 hours. If they used artificial light, the plant would behave normally in a 24 hour cycle... but a 30 hour adjustment would cause the plant to be unreliable in behavior. Ponder that for a minute.
"A young sunflower plant not only tracks the sun during the day but also reorients at night in anticipation of dawn." It actually adjusts stem length to make this happen. It is a living thing.
Then, as it matures, the sunflower change's behavior to spend its day facing the east watchfully. As a Christian, this delights my soul to ponder nature's design. Still, let's finish the explanation.
In doing so, the flower head stays warmed by the sun and it attracts five times as many pollinators. Bees like their flowers warm. As it faces east with confidence, the flower becomes more of what the bee needs. The sun provides what the flower needs. The flower provides what the bee need. "Let heaven and nature sing."
With maturity, the needs change and the purpose changes. The plant grows into what it needs to be to bring life to other living creatures.
We, too, were born to see the Son. To seek His light and follow him, until at last we mature. Then, our purpose changes. Not just awaiting death, but feeding others in the warmth of His light and standing tall watching the Eastern sky. With each new discovery of science and archeology... I feel the time getting short.
"He replied, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!” -Luke 19:40
If we will not praise him, the rocks and the flowers will cry out. We may revisit the sunflower phenomena another time. Our God is amazing
Today, I am grateful for a lesson from the sunflowers.
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