Stand Tall Like a Sunflower ~ by Christina
🌻 If you haven’t noticed already, I love sunflowers! 🌻
I’ve loved them as long as I can remember, but through the years my love for them has deepened. It’s not surprising that I found so many quotes surrounding the sunflower. Here are a few that I found during a quick Google search:
“Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows. It’s what the sunflowers do.” ~ Helen Keller
“If roses tried to be sunflowers, they would lose their beauty; and if sunflowers tried to be roses, they would lose their strength.” ― Matshona Dhliwayo
“A sunflower field is like a sky with a thousand suns.” – Corina Abdulahm-Negura
“If I were a flower… I would be a sunflower. To always follow the sun, turn my back to darkness, stand proud, tall and straight even with my head full of seeds.” – Pam Stewart
I know we are in the middle of the coronavirus and can’t take a vacation away from home right now, but will you think back in your mind to a time when you took a vacation, or had a special trip, that sticks out in your mind? I can recall some vacations during my life that were pretty great. When I was younger we took family trips to Colorado, Florida, Ohio and other places. I can remember some special times that I spent with my siblings in the truck camper as my parents drove us to different exciting places. It was so awesome to look out the window with excitement and anticipating the next stop.
As an adult with my own husband and kids, we made it a priority to take vacations. As a family we went to places like New York, Washington D.C. by train, cruises to various islands, Chicago (and many other places in Illinois), Southern Florida, and many others. These were all amazing trips with lots of awesome memories! But the one that I treasure the absolute most, was the unplanned family trip to the Sunflower Farm in Rutledge, Georgia in July 2010.
This was a trip my daughter had planned with some of her friends before she left for the Army.  Their plans fell through and she was bummed. So, without a lot of thought, we decided our family would take a long weekend and make the trip together. It surpassed any expectations we could have imagined. The beauty and raw fun we had as a family was amazing!
Then shortly after that we experienced some big changes in our lives… my daughter was in the Army, our dog of over 10 years died, and not long after that we lost our son in a hit and run accident.
Yes, sunflowers represent a memory that I will forever treasure because of this trip, our last family vacation with both of our children.
Can you recall a time when you looked back that you could see all the pieces were being put into place for something you would experience in the future? For us, we look back and are filled with humble amazement at how God put everything in place—we just didn’t know it until we looked back. God is like that, he is working on the small and big details even when we don’t see it. For each of us it looks different. It may be a job that we lost only to have a better job in the future. Perhaps, it is a broken relationship that had it not broken you would not have grown to become the better person that you are today.  Or a hard conversation, that at the time seemed to go downhill, only to find on the other side a “changed for the better” end result. We have a choice to make. Will I focus on the shadows and dark side of this? Or will I look toward the light and stand tall? It’s not always easy, but we can trust in God’s plan and be strengthened through His promises.
While I won’t say I always remember to focus on the light, I will say that when I look upward and let God work on my inward heart and soul, I experience a heartfelt joy 🌻 that can’t be explained.
So as we continue day after day, going through our lives, simply breathe – stand tall and look upward and see the good that is there.
John 1:5 “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
James 1:2-3 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance
P.S. All of the sunflower pictures on this post were taken by my family at the Sunflower Farm in Rutledge, GA
2 Replies to “Stand Tall Like a Sunflower ~ by Christina”
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Oh my goodness, I LOVE THIS SO MUCH !! You are so gifted , Christina ! God has shown me through you and Lorrie that life can change dramatically and you still not only survive but shine a light that not everyone knows even exists. I love you all.