Insights From God In a Field of Sunflowers (Part One)

   For the past three years during the first days of July, my family and I travel to a much sought after sunflower field on the outskirts of a nearby town.  Sought after because sunflowers make me smile, and they photograph so beautifully.  For me, the moment we located the field was one of pure joy, looking upon the tall yellow and brown flower heads as far as the eye could see. That day in the burning heat of the summer I snapped over two hundred pictures. Many were taken long after my family had returned to the air conditioning of our truck. Despite the obvious redundancy of my shots, I could not bring myself to stop! I needed to be assured that I was capturing as much of the scene as possible on the camera memory card and in my own memory.

     Each year's pilgrimage is met (speaking for myself!) with the same excitement and yields much the same view with some modifications. We have altered our arrival time to provide varying lighting for the familiar scene which is carefully studied in an attempt to capture the picture to eclipse all sunflower pictures ever! (I take my amateur photography seriously!) With each trip I consistently find myself standing in the field long after my family has retreated, praising God for the beautiful landscape is if the entire field exists solely for my joy.
     Over the next week, I will be sharing with you God-given insights gleaned from those visits, observations repeatedly made yet not conveyed. The following verse from the Bible always comes to mind, and I love how The Message version conveys it.

"Walk in the fields and look at the wildflowers.  They don't fuss with their appearance-but have you ever seen color and design quite like it?  The ten best dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them. If God gives such attention to the wildflowers, most of them never even seen, don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?" (Luke 12:27-28)     

     In this field where few will stand to gaze upon its beauty, I am reminded of the magnificently God conceived world in which we are blessed to exist. Then to meditate on how God's detailed attention to beauty and provision in our lives far supersedes that bestowed on these sunflowers and other elements of creation surrounding us. Yet, it seems when life hits the "bumpy spots" we so easily forget this truth. We find no beauty in ourselves, and the only provision we count on is our own. "Don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?" Allow this verse to abide in your heart as well in your mind.  Reflect constantly on God's unending supply of love and his faithfulness in every situation. See yourself through the eyes of the master gardener as the beautiful creation you are.  Share your beauty, far beyond that of a sunflower, your light, your Savior with those who surround you daily. To God Be the Glory!