Domestic Newsflash

The Lord makes such beautiful things! This summer I’ve watched seeds under the ground grow into giant sunflowers.

There is a historical background to every lovely image: when the plants were a tender four feet, they were run over by a speeding four-wheeler- reducing the healthy thirteen to a standing one and propped up two.

I didn’t think they would last; being mistaken blessed me. The three patriarchs flowered with fiery yellow petals. They lasted under the sun, and bowed their heads in old age when the fire died and the yellow dried.

Today I harvested my sunflowers. When I brushed a thick covering off their faces, I found a full crop of juicy black seeds.

When I feel useless, downbeat or discouraged, I will remember that the Lord makes beautiful things underneath any thick covering of meaningless earthliness. He will brush it away, dried and dead, to reveal our radiant and fruitful hearts.