Lone Sunflower

                                The Lone Sunflower

The area where I live in Texas has some rural fields that have wildflowers growing in them and also along the roads. The flowers vary depending upon the time of year.  Most of the very hot summer you will see many clusters of sunflowers.  I have heard that this type is called a Mexican Sunflower Tree.  When I moved here a year ago the sight of the sunflowers was very comforting because they reminded me of a dear friend who happens to have a green thumb and a warm heart.  She has a way with sunflowers and grew a mammoth one a few summers ago.  Just seeing it brought out the excited little girl within me.  I remember watching giant sunflowers grow at my school in Kindergarten.  They seemed so tall, looking at them through my 5 year old eyes. The sunflower my friend nurtured made me feel so small again and it took me back in time.  God finds little ways to remind us that we are his children no matter what age.  And that his creations around us are glorious if we take off our blinders and look around.

Field full of Mexican Sunflowers 

 My 13 year old son taught me how to take off the blinders and see the details that add fun and color to our lives. He spoke at a very young age and would say "kite"and you better believe there was a kite somewhere in the vicinity.  He was all about the details.  I learned to notice them along with him.  Seeing the world through a child's eyes is wonderful. If you have not experienced this ever or in a long time I highly recommend it.  Have a play date and go somewhere they have not been before and let them take the lead, listen and let them talk. See what they have to say about the world around them. I guarantee you will learn something.  

That same 13 year old son is now totally annoyed when I take time to pull off the road on the way somewhere to take a picture of a field of sunflowers or an amazing sunset.  He is in a hurry to get there and grow up. "Focus" on the task at hand and "no goofing around". These are things I have taught him through the years to prepare him for being that responsible adult, you know, the one with the blinders on?  I need to remind him of the things he has taught me. There is a time for focus and a time for goofing off and if you can organize that time, you can manage to do both.  

I learned a lesson recently about why it is important to take that time when you think of it instead of putting it off for another day.  I was taking my usual route down the road and noticed that the field of sunflowers was gone. I thought it was against the rules to mown down wildflowers in Texas but I guess only in protected areas.  I looked for any trace of what was once there and saw this one lone sunflower amid the dry cracked soil.  It was a survivor and a beautiful bright yellow reminder.  Others passing by may not even notice it in the vast field but I saw it there.  I pulled over and snapped a picture to show my Mom that those fields she had admired when she visited a couple of weeks before were no more. And that was when I thought about how lucky I was to have seen them before they were mowed down and how glad I was to have captured their beauty in a picture to share with others.  Enjoy beauty when you first see it. Take the time to admire it fully. It may not be there when you do go to seek it.  

The Lone Sunflower
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