Sunflowers, Love and a Stone

Little did my friend, Diane know her gift would become the subject of one of my entries. Knowing me as she does, she knows that sunflowers are my absolute favorite flower. They represent all that is cheerful and good about creation to me. They shoot up through the soil as tiny plants that can grow to great heights all in pursuit of one fundamental thing - the sun. They turn their beautiful faces toward the sunlight and when evening comes they cast their look down. It is as if they know in the light there is joy and in darkness there is sorrow.

It was interesting to me when she gave me this gift that the one lone sunflower was coming up out of a stone. And that stone had etched on its front the word "love". Now, I must say that this friend of mine has been an agent of God's love department for many, many years. She has been with me through the happy times and the not so happy times and never once did she give up on me. She prayed, she called, she sought me out when I went into hiding. All of this because she represented her Savior to me. And out of that love a little hope was renewed.

You see, my heart had become like a stone. Believe me when I say that the scripture is true when it speaks of our hearts being like stone. Because of my constant living in the pit (see yesterday) I became hard to the things of the Spirit. In fact, there were so many times when I totally rebelled and went contrary to what I knew in my heart was right to do that soon I became absolutely hardened to the voice of the Spirit. My heart was hard and there did not seem to be any hope of returning back to the Lord I loved.

But, there was love. Love of a friend, love of a faithful mother, love of sisters and brother and love of my children. Most of all - there was the love of a Savior who would not give up on me. Who loved me enough to die for me and loved me enough to rescue me from the pit. This Jesus, who bore my sorrow, who paid my penalty, who died an agonizing death for me loved me that much. Wow. That's all I can say.

Slowly, in the seemingly impermeable rock a tiny crack appeared. And into that crack a seed was planted. Oh that plant needed help. It needed some watering, thank you friends and family, it needed a fresh breeze, praise you Spirit of the living God and most of all it needed Sonshine, how I love You, Lord Jesus. The plant continues to grow and to pursue the warmth of the Son and to live in the Light. And yes, the plant knows that there will be times when the clouds come and block out the sun but the plant trusts in the coming of the new day when the sunshine will once again burst forth and the face of the flower will reflect the image of her maker.