Anna Porter brought us a TFTD a couple of weeks ago about sunflowers and how they bring sunshine into dark places, and reflected on the image from Ukraine, where fields of sunflowers have has to give way to graves for those who have died in the conflict.
It got me to thinking about the sunflowers in my garden. I was given a packet of sunflower seeds in a card for my birthday earlier in the year. I duly planted them in compost in our greenhouse and when the seedlings were big enough in late spring I planted them out in various spots in the garden. Some were against south facing walls, others in darker areas, some in pots, others directly in the soil.
What I was slightly disheartened by, was that they didn’t grow into strong tall plants with flowerheads the size of dinner plates that you commonly see. To be honest they all looked rather weedy and it would seem the ones planted on the east side of the house have done best, even if they are in the shade.
It was good however to see that all of them, whether “weedy” or not have produced flowers and are now the donors of hundreds of sunflower seeds – who knows what next summer will bring?
In our faith we cannot all be bright and bold, we may thrive better away from the “limelight,” but what is certain that wherever we are, however strong we may feel, God sees the beauty in us, and uses us to our full potential.
And He knows what next summer will bring!?