SUN-flower
Faith-lesSONs
By Karen D’Amore
“I will keep
my eyes on the Lord. With Him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”
Psalm 16:8 (NIV)
After spending much of the
sun-drenched September day writing and completing yesterday’s devotional, SON-flower Faith, I set out on a lengthy
run. Minutes into my run, a mysterious haze infiltrated the sky, creating an
interesting phenomenon enveloping the sun. Stunningly brilliant multi-colored
rings engulfed the sun with smothering effects, intermittently inhibiting its
visibility. Mile after mile, as the dense haze thickened, the massive sun was
eventually reduced to a mere pinhole of light.
Honestly, it was the best distracting
run I’ve ever taken! I found myself so mesmerized with the theatrics
surrounding the sun that I couldn’t take my eyes off it. Multiple times along
my course, I stopped to capture snapshots of the breathtaking phenomenon. And
when my direction of travel changed, putting my back to the sun, I’d
continually glance over my shoulder to prevent missing out on the rapidly
changing portraits in the sky. I instantly thought of the loyal sun-following sunflowers!
No matter how visibly small the sun became, I couldn’t take my eyes off of it.
Its beauty stirring within me a magnetic adoration. How fitting and timely,
that this experience followed immediately on the heels of finishing SON-flower Faith!
I was stunned to learn that the haze,
producing the uniquely beautiful phenomenon, was the result of drifting residual
smoke from devastatingly destructive fires in distant states. The irony of
something so tragic producing something so beautiful was profoundly impactful.
The entire experience spurred me to consider valuable faith lessons:
·
Scripture commands us to walk by
faith…not by sight. [1] Sunflowers continue to follow the
sun, regardless of how visibly small it becomes.
·
Our ability/inability to see the sun/SON…doesn’t change the
reality of its/His presence.
·
Faith that sees beauty rise from the
ashes stems from trusting in God’s divine purpose in ALL things.
·
When haze from tragedies such as
destructive fires…or the uncertainty of a mass on the brain…distort our vision,
we must keep our eyes on the Son, allowing His radiance to consume our focus!
As referenced in SON-flower Faith, sunflowers innately
face and follow the source on which they’re dependent for survival: the sun! While
disturbing events saturating the news or hardships disrupting our lives
threaten to blur our vision and divert our focus, we must emulate the valuable
lessons exhibited by sunflowers and keep our eyes fixed on that which our life
depends…the SON!
GOING
DEEPER:
1. What obstacles are impairing your
ability to focus on the Son?
2. What additional faith lessons can
you glean from characteristics of sunflowers?
FURTHER
READING:
Married to Dan, Karen, a retired
police officer, currently works as a Manicurist at Craig Berns Salon and as an
instructor in the Cosmetology Department at WCTC. Karen also serves on the
Welcoming Team at Oakwood.
[1] 2 Corinthians 5:7
