Sunflowers are symbolic of faith, loyalty and adoring friendship. The sunflower is the only bud with flower in it’s name and it is the state flower of Kansas.  Imagine Dorothy traveling the yellow brick road, with the scarecrow as her friend, a fellow traveler who had also lost his spark.  Their common fear and anxiety drew them together. HOME was what they longed for. Dorothy and the scarecrow both lost their identity as citizens of heaven. With hope to return to where they felt at home, they opted to follow a road that appeared to be harmless, however, this path led them into deeper trouble. The yellow road glistened with dazzling colors, but it bended and twisted the hope they had as flying monkeys carried them off. They find their way home only after the Wizard behind the curtain was exposed and the veil was lifted. FACT: The face of a single Sunflower is shaped in a spiral with up to 2,000 seeds of hope! Like Johnny Appleseed, we are given the chance to nourish those seeds with our smiles of recognition, and our words of encouragement! Yes indeed, we serve a God that is filled with glorious details to remind us of His constant love! The head of the bloom is made up of 1000 to 2000 individual flowers which are all joined at the base, just as we are all tied together in our rock solid faith!  The large yellow petals that surround the edge of the happy face of the bloom are called “ray” flowers.  Likewise, we are God’s ray of hope to all along our journey. With incredible loyalty, and happy obedience, the face of the flower follows the direction of the sun, and shows us the way!  Ephesians 2:12-14 “remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,” Philippians 3:20-21 “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body.”

As far is …the east is from the west, we are forgiven for looking away and being temporarily downcast.  The way in which the Sunflower follows the sun is a process  known as heliotropism, which means the tendency of a creature to move towards the light, to the faithful Source……that gave them life.  Let the Sunflower remind us all to lift our minds towards our Creator and give thanks for the beautiful ways in which our Lord shows us His love, His holy Presence, His devotion to never leaving us in despair without hope.

Your identity? Is it from what you have accomplished? What you know? Or, in Whom you belong to?

When you feel like the world is closing in and suffocating you, perhaps it is God’s Way of turning you back to the Truth, with Jesus as your Lord. ❤ You are not defined by the struggles you face but rather the way you rise from them. Bloom and shine His hope.

We are His tribe, who face the Son with confidence in His Word. We pave His way as we follow His lead.