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Writer's pictureGenise Joziah Hope

Be Like the Sunflower

Do you ever feel like you’re trying and trying to achieve something and no matter how hard you work you feel like you’re just not getting anywhere?


Or you are moving too slowly while everyone else around you seem to have it all together?


You think you’ve got it and then you find out you don’t.


All the great things you’ve built and strived on just aren’t working anymore? They have served their purpose and now they are done, but here you are still standing and wondering what in the world you’re still here for?


What is God trying to do in you? In me?


Consider sunflowers.


They start from seeds. Some sprout up from the year before after being lost in the ground all through the winter!


Buried. As if dead!


Some are harvested and stored in a pouch or container. Not really forgotten, just hiding until the right time to plant. When the weather is warm, the elements can support them.

They are waiting for GOD’s appointed time.


Then they are stuck under soil. Surrounded and packed completely by messy, dirty STUFF, unable to move.


Until one day God miraculously causes them to sprout and push their way through the soil!

They stretch up slowly, craning their green tops toward the sky, reaching all through the summer, growing thicker and stronger.

Other vines tangle around and climb up them, but the sunflowers do not strangle because their woody stems were built to support these other plants.


The sunflowers continue to grow gradually upward, their stems and tops expanding little by little into tightly closed flowers as they face the sun.


Then one day, near the end of summer, their green covers open, revealing round heads with bright petals in oranges and yellows.


In the morning when the sun rises, the bright faces turn toward the east, in the direction of the sunrise. As the sun moves, so do the sunflowers to face it.

But by the time the cool weather comes the heads have grown so round and heavy that they can no longer turn. They stop moving, and, facing east or downward, they put their energy into producing lignin inside their stems to stay strong and avoid falling over.


Have you ever seen a bee in a sunflower and wonder if it has fallen asleep? What a place to rest and receive nourishment, basking in the sun.


Did you know that east-facing flowers are more attractive to bees than those facing west?

So, more bees will pollinate the blooms that face the rising sun than those who do not.


Bees are necessary for plants to reproduce! Sunflowers provide nourishment to the bees and the bees give back by spreading the pollen throughout the garden.


When the seeds come to maturity, they are plump and meaty! Tasty food for birds, animals and people alike. From one seed comes hundreds more.


God’s miracle of multiplication!


It’s a beautiful cycle of synergy that continues if all the necessary elements are put together at the right time.


Be like the sunflower.

When life covers you with dirt and you can’t seem to move, fix your mind on the SON, and push through the mess so that you can see HIS light.


When morning comes, lift your head toward heaven in praise.


Push through the tangled mess of life’s stresses as you continue to stretch upward toward the Lord, relying on His energy to feed and nourish your heart, mind & soul - from the inside out.


Be strong enough that others can find comfort in you and grow WITH you, intertwined.


When all the world seems to be flourishing & succeeding around you, remember that God has a plan for you to bloom at just the right time.


When your time comes, when things around you seem to have died, lost their energy, or finished their own tasks, then you will have what you need to give to those who The Lord sends your way.


The nourishment you provide to others will be sweet nectar because it will come directly from your Source – The Son who has risen in the east. Continue to face HIM, even as you nourish others so that you can continue to grow and produce more seed for them to reproduce and grow as well.


And when you have reached the fullness of all you can receive, bow your head in thankfulness, humility and in continued prayer, giving away the love that has been given to you until every bit is harvested.


Blessings far-reaching beyond where you'll ever know.


And you will hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant….” Matthew 25:23


For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Cor. 4:17-18

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Heb 12:1-3


God’s not done with me yet. And he’s not done with you. May this be an encouragement for you to keep on growing.





~Love, Jeanie

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WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

Kim Rinks

...It (podcast episode with Fierce Freedom) was so interesting, insightful and inspiring.  It made me think about my own relationship with my kids and if I gave them enough affirmation..

Morgan M.

I believe this book is absolutely necessary and beneficial for parents, and it should be in every family's household.  I fully plan to order more books for our support group as well as freely within our clinic for other therapists to utilize with their young clients.

F.S.

Genise is an asset to any community she is involved in.  her character is impeccable and that shows through all she is connected with.  Genise ends up positively influencing those around her with her quiet excellence and wisdom..

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