Sunflower Seeds

 

The sunflower head drooped heavily. Its last petals wavered, then dropped. ‘Oh no,’ Flick cried. ‘My sunflower!’

Planted in her Primary 2 classroom, brought home and replanted in the rose bed, that sunflower has been carefully tended and watered in dry spells. Flick has asked for help to support it, and delighted in it as it opened its full face to the sun.

She’s been gathering seeds to start a seed shop, so we consoled her that this gigantic head will now provide product for the shop. We googled what to do to prepare the seeds. They need to dry, so the bloom was cut off, to more cries of dismay.

Nothing stays the same.

It’s painful to watch life age and decay. But what seems like the end is, of course, only the beginning. ‘Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it bears much fruit,’ Jesus taught.

Only God never changes. The rest of us are moving along on that continuum. I pray that I might sow as many seeds as that sunflower is carrying, and that each might sprout and grow into a star bringing light into this dark world.

Jesus taught that the smallest seed of faith can grow into an impressive tree of life. May we all be encouraged to believe that even though our efforts, influence or visible results may seem miniscule, God has the last word.