Each time we sneak away this summer, we come to the mountains. As beautiful as the desert is in the summer, having your flip-flops melt on the pavement gets expensive. While a sauna is fabulous at the spa, my personal sauna on wheels has turned my car into a sweatbox. But hey, it’s a dry heat, right? The kind that’ll kill you in a couple of hours. I once heard that long-time Phoenicians need not be embalmed because they’re mostly mummified when they pass away.  

Okay. I am exaggerating. But only a little.

What I love about Colorado is the summer sunflowers that bloom along the highway. Sunflowers follow the sun. Their beautiful faces look east to the morning sun and track it west throughout the day. When the sun sets, they return to the east to welcome the new day. They were created to do this, and it occupies their lifespan. As they age, they remain facing east, which is the direction in which they produce the most pollen.  Every time I see them, it brightens my day and makes me smile.

Big whoop, you might think. Thanks for the flower lesson.

I wondered if there was anything I could learn from this simple little gem. God creates intentionally and with purpose. Sunflowers attract pollinators, help fight erosion with their roots, are packed with essential nutrients, and work well with other plants, to name a few.

Biblically speaking, the Garden of Eden was in the east, “The LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and placed there the man whom he had formed.” (Gen 2:8). It was in the east that mankind received life and awaited the Son.

Other Scriptural references of easterly direction have to do with the presence of God or His glory. “Look to the east, Jerusalem; see the joy that comes to you from God!” (Baruch 4:36)

The beginning of a new day always comes from the east. We, too, must look at the new day as a fresh possibility to find joy and encounter God.

I’ve shared a little about the purpose and design of the sunflower that is here today and gone in a month. We are humans, made from dust and animated by God’s holy breath and live eternally. There are a few things we can learn from the humble sunflower.

Stand tall and be completely yourself. There is no need to compare ourselves to lilies, daffodils, or carnations. Be unapologetically who God created you to be.

We should keep our eyes fixed on the Son of God throughout our existence. It is there that we receive all that is needed to flourish and produce abundant fruit.

Bloom where you’re planted and make the soil better for having been there.

Work in union with all the people that God places around you.

Share your God-given gifts. Together, we can improve the world through cooperation and sharing.

Our humble and genuine presence should bring a smile to those we encounter along the highway of life.

God has left many magnificent signs in His creation that point to Him and lead us to heaven. It isn’t overly complicated and is almost as simple as the little sunflower’s example. If we feel downcast, lost or confused, look to the creation around you which points to God. Get outside, breathe the fresh air, sit in a park or take a walk in nature.  Listen to her sweet song. Notice how every created thing, being precisely what it was created to be, glorifies God and points to the Creator. Speak to God in your heart, ask Him to show you His Will for your life and that He furnish you with the strength to live that life well.

“For from the greatness and the beauty of created things their original author, by analogy, is seen.”

Wisdom 13:5