sunflower

The rain was pouring in sheets, and lightning struck the ground from the sky. It was November in Illinois, storm season. A fresh gust of wind from the North picked up a sunflower seed that lay on the road and carried it to the edge of a field. The sunflower seed fell on the ground and stayed there through the winter. In the spring the farmer was planting corn and came across the first tender shoots. He rolled over them with his plow. "This no-good weed," he mumbled, "takes the soil away from good crops." Then he continued planting corn seeds. The sunflower seed survived and kept growing. One day the farmer's son was playing in the field and came across the young plant. He said, "What is this dumb weed doing here?" He struck at it with a stick and tore off three leaves. But the sunflower continued to grow. One day a butterfly was flying around in the cornfield and found the young plant. The sunflower asked the butterfly, "Why am I here? Everyone says I am no good and keeps trying to kill me. If I am no good, then why was I ever born?" The butterfly hovered gently over the delicate leaves and said, "You are a sunflower. You are in a corn field. The people here think you're no good because they are growing corn, and they think you're a weed. But a hundred yards from here, along the road, there are hundreds of sunflowers. They line the road and the drivers think they're very beautiful." The sunflower asked, "Why am I here, where nobody wants me? Did other sunflowers hate me?" The butterfly swept her wings around and said, "You are lucky to be here. The other sunflowers get plucked and sold as food. Here, you could grow up. Count your blessings." And the sunflower praised God and grew up to be as tall as the corn. When the farmer and his son saw it again, they marveled at it. "It must be a sturdy weed," the farmer said, "to have grown this tall under such conditions. We're not gonna touch it again." So they left it alone. When August came, the sunflower was in full bloom and following the sun as it rose in the morning and went down at night. A butterfly came again and said, "See? Now you're all grown. Do you like yourself now?" "I don't know," said the sunflower. "You are beautiful," said the butterfly to the sunflower. "You are beautiful," said the sunflower to the butterfly. And the butterfly pollinated the sunflower. The farmer's wife and daughter were walking in the field. The little girl said, "Look, it's a sunflower!" "Yes, dear," said her mother, "it's a sunflower. And it grew in a corn field even though your daddy tried to kill all the weeds. It must be a very special sunflower." "Let's pluck it for good luck," insisted the girl. "No dear," said her mother, "it must have been blessed to survive what it did. Kiss its leaves for good luck and then leave it alone." The girl kissed the sunflower and then went home. Next morning the sunflower said to the butterfly, "I don't want to get plucked. I did not survive this long this far away from home that I should allow myself to be killed." The butterfly said to the sunflower, "Everyone dies, but if you rid your heart of darkness then you can live on in another form." "I need to repay the farmer's family for having raised me," said the sunflower, "and then I want to help other plants." So the butterfly said, "OK, then let them have your seeds and your petals, while you let your soul fly away with me." The next night, while the mother was sleeping, the little girl went out into the field and plucked the sunflower. She put it in a vase. When next morning her mother found the sunflower in the little girl's room, she got angry. She said, "This plant survives storms, winter and your dad's plow, and you kill it. Are there not enough sunflowers along the road, that you had to kill something so precious?" The girl cried and became afraid. She said to her mother, "I will be forgiven, right? I am a good girl, right?" The mother looked at her and said, "You have to ask for forgiveness, and you have to pray." The girl came up to the sunflower and said, "I am sorry." Then she prayed that the sunflower live on. The farmer saw the sunflower in his daughter's room and said, "It is not by accident that this plant lived while we were trying to kill all the weeds. Perhaps it is trying to tell us something. I'll build a plot next to the corn fields where we'll be raising sunflowers." And he cracked the plant, he took out the seeds from it and put them in little bags to grow the next spring. As he was plucking out the seeds, from the sunflower emerged a beautiful butterfly. She flew away and found her friend. And together they went on spreading her blessings and knowledge to all the flowers that lived in the surrounding fields. - Anonymous

growing roots for harvest

If you’re trying to achieve big goals in your life and work, the chances are that, from time to time, you hit rock bottom. Nothing works, nothing goes right, nothing succeeds. At times like these, you may feel like throwing in the towel. But before you do, please read the following story. It might just change your mind. (It changed mine.)

One day, a man decided he’d had enough. Enough of the unremitting workload, enough of the lack of response, enough of the crushing loneliness. He went into the woods to have one last talk to God.
“God,” he said.
“Can you give me one good reason why I shouldn’t quit?” The answer took him by surprise.
“Look around you,” it said. “Do you see the fern and the bamboo?”
“Yes,” the man replied.
“When I planted the fern and the bamboo, I took very good care of them. I gave them both equal amounts of food and water. I gave them sunlight in spring and protected them from the storms in autumn. The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant fronds soon covered the forest floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. In the second year, the fern grew even more splendidly than before but nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit. In year four, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed. Still I would not quit.”
“Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant. But day by day the sprout grew. First a shoot, then a seedling, and finally a cane. Within six months, the bamboo cane had risen to a height of 100 feet. It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle.”
“Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have been growing? Growing the roots that you need to produce your fruit. I would not quit on the bamboo. I will not quit on you.” “Don’t compare yourself to others. All of my creations have different purposes, different journeys, and different timescales. The bamboo had a different purpose from the fern. Yet they both make the forest beautiful. Your time will come. You will rise high.”
“How high should I rise?” the man asked.
“How high will the bamboo rise?” asked God in return.
“As high as it can?” the man questioned.
“Yes,” God replied. “Give me glory by rising as high as you can.”
The man left the forest. And never went back.

If nothing seems to be happening in your life, despite all the work you’re putting in, remember that you’re probably growing roots not fruit. Stick with it. One day not far from now, there’ll be a fantastic harvest. Godspeed!

He will never let you sink

Jesus actually walked on this after He fed the five thousand!

OK... maybe not THIS exact water because I took this picture in the middle of the Caribbean and He actually walked on the Sea of Galilee in Israel. (I wanted to give you a visual.)

Whether the story is familiar to you or not, enjoy this simple to understand, modern version of this bible passage ...

On a rocky hillside, he took two smelly fish and five crusty loaves of bread and fed over five thousand people.
“WOW!” The disciples must have thought, “We should open a restaurant!” Well, maybe they didn’t think the restaurant part - but they were amazed by the miracle they just saw Jesus do. The crowd was still buzzing about the whole thing when Jesus took Peter by the arm and said, “You guys go on ahead to the other side of the lake. I’ll catch up with you later.” (OK, we don’t really know what Jesus said exactly. For one thing, he was speaking in Aramaic and not English. And chances are pretty good he didn’t call the disciples ‘you guys.’) But we do know that Jesus told the disciples to get in their boat and go across the lake. He needed some time to be alone. Well, imagine if you had crowds of people following you around everywhere you went, always wanting something from you. You’d want to get away to be alone sometimes too! But what Jesus really needed was time to pray. We all do!

So Jesus blessed the people and sent them on their way home. And he sent them away full - not just with a good meal, but with the word of God. They all left knowing a little better just how much God loved them. So Jesus watched the last few stragglers pick their way through the rocks, and then he turned and climbed up the mountain a ways.

When night came, Jesus was still there praying, alone on the mountainside. Of course, he wasn’t really alone. He was with his Father. No one is ever really alone. God is always with us.

Meanwhile, the disciples were on the lake below, trying to row across it. It was very dark now, and a strong wind was blowing right in their faces. Well, right in the faces of the lucky ones who weren’t trying to row against it. Those poor guys had their backs to the wind and were rowing against it with all their might - and hardly getting anywhere! “This is just great!” they were probably grumbling to each other as sprays of water splashed in their faces and the waves tossed their little boat every which way - except the way they wanted to go! “Jesus sends us out across the lake with this blasted wind doing its best to blow us back! Couldn’t he do something about that?!” (We like to grumble whenever things get hard, don’t we.)

But Jesus could see that they were in trouble.

The wind was howling, the sea was still tossing their boat this way and that, when one of the disciples happened to look out into the night. “WHAT IS THAT?!!!”
There was a man walking on the water!!!

In the dark of the night they saw a man coming towards them on the water - his hair was blowing wildly, his robe was being whipped by the wind like a flag in a windstorm.
They were terrified! (...well, wouldn’t YOU be?!)

“IT’S A GHOST!!” they screamed.

But just then, they heard a voice say, “Take courage! Don’t be afraid. It is me!”

It was Jesus!

“Lord, is it really you?” Peter said, holding his hand over his eyes to block the spray of the splashing waves. “If it really IS you, tell me to come out to you on the water!” Peter was a brave man! (Or he was crazy!)

Jesus said, “Come.” Peter stuck one leg out over the side of the boat and set his foot on the water. It didn’t sink in! He stepped out with his other foot, and it didn’t sink. He stood up. He was standing on the water! He took one step, and then another, and then another. He was walking on the water, just like Jesus!

Peter was walking on the water! He might have even been thinking to himself, “Hey! Look at me. I am walking on the water! Aren’t I great!” But wait a minute. People can’t walk on water.

And then Peter started to look around him. All of a sudden, the boat seemed awfully small and far away. There was nothing but black, churning water all around him. The waves were lapping at his feet, water was stinging his eyes. And then, just like that, the water under his feet let go.

“Help me, Lord!” Peter gulpped, splashing wildly as the cold water swallowed him down. “Save me!”

But before the water could gulp Peter down entirely, Jesus reached down with his strong hand (he WAS a carpenter after all) and grabbed him by the arm.

“Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And with that, Jesus pulled Peter up out of the water and carried him, dripping wet, back to the boat.

Just as they were climbing over the side of the boat, the wind died away and the sea turned smooth as glass. Everything was suddenly peaceful and quiet.

One minute the wind was roaring and the sea was crashing, the next all was peaceful and calm.

Some of the disciples must have remembered just then the Psalm they learned in school - “Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper, the waves of the sea were hushed.” (Psalm 107:13)
Those disciples knew that only God has the power to calm the wind and the waves - and that’s just what Jesus did. “Truly you ARE the Son of God!” they said to Jesus in awe and wonder. And they bowed down and worshipped him right then and there.

Now, we don’t know for sure, but maybe Peter sat there shivering in the back of the boat with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders, thinking about all that had just happened. And maybe he was hearing over and over in his head the words Jesus had calmy said, ‘Why did you doubt?’
‘Oh, you of little faith. Why did you doubt?’
Why DID Peter doubt? Just the day before, he saw Jesus turn two fish and five loaves of bread into enough to feed five thousand people. And now he saw Jesus walking on the water. Jesus said it was okay, so he stepped out onto the water. He trusted Jesus. He stepped out of the boat because Jesus had called him, and his faith held him up. But then he saw the darkness all around him, he felt the wind stinging his face, he saw the swirling black water beneath him... and he doubted. He took his eyes off Jesus and he became afraid. He forgot about Jesus. And he sank.

And it may be that Peter learned a lesson that night that he never forgot. When trouble is all around - keep your eyes on Jesus.

If you're in a similar circumstance, apply Peter's lesson to your life and focus on Jesus, He will never let you sink.

water and rocks

I took this picture in Laguna Beach, CA. It's one of my favorite places to visit.

I've always found it quite fascinating, the way that waves crash into rocks. The force by which the water hits the rocks leaves me speechless.

The broken pieces of the rocks are carried by the water and deposited in new places where, over time, heat and pressure melt the pieces together to form a new rock. A forceful rush of water can cut deep canyons into dry desert rock. Like for example, the Grand Canyon, in Arizona, it was carved by water.

It's breath-taking... It's massive... It's exceptionally wild.

As I sit here, staring at this picture, I'm recalling the sounds I heard when those waves crashed against the rocks. I'm remembering such amazing colors and smells. I wish I was there again. If only, just for this moment. To soak in it... to take it all in again.

I love how God uses nature to reveal Himself in a personal way. I honestly just wish I would allow myself to stop hearing the noise around me and to actually listen more intently to His voice and see Him manifested in all things.

It really puts into perspective a lot of the minimal things in my sometimes crazy life. When I remember how much He loves me and wants to reveal Himself, it's like I'm back at my favorite place... speechless... all over again.