Sunflowers: Symbol of Strength and Resilience
The giant sunflower.
It is beautiful.
It is functional.
And it is designed for survival.
The God-design of the sunflower is intricate. Tall, majestic, and strong, it defies the odds with its beauty and ability to stand tall facing the sun. It provides sustenance to all types of animals and has the ability to reproduce itself repeatedly, showcasing its resilience.
It is protected.
The hairs on the sunflower’s stem are intended to discourage herbivores from eating the stem and weakening the plant. The hairs on the root system also assist the plant in balancing its water and nutrient needs by collecting moisture in the most arid climates.
It is strong.
Its stem is sturdy enough to hold the large blooms filled with seeds and withstand the harshest conditions. Its tap root travels deep inside the earth to hold the flower’s stalk, which is sturdy enough to be used as a building material.
It’s nurturing.
The flower’s seeds are packed with nutrition, providing food for birds and other animals. They can be dried, crushed, and made into flour for bread, or processed to extract the oil, essential for cooking and moisturizing skin and hair. Because of their design and ability to soak up contaminants in the soil, the flowers are sometimes planted in the harshest conditions to revitalize an environment.
It’s reverent.
The blooms exhibit heliotropism, which means they move toward the light. When the flower is young, its face follows the sun across the sky to absorb as much sunlight as possible to gain strength to survive. As the flower heads grow and become heavy with seed, they are known to bow to the ground as if they are worshipping their creator.
It’s resilient.
The flower has made genetic adaptations for survival; it is resilient and not willing to give up. It changes and adapts to its environment. If water is scarce, its root system adapts to collect moisture more efficiently. The reproduction system has adapted to increase the chances of survival. Each bloom can contain up to 1000 seeds and as the plant dies, it is prolific in its reproduction ability. As the plant wilts, the seeds dry, and germination occurs when these seeds are dispersed into the soil around the plant.
God’s design for the sunflower is much like our own. Because of the intricacies of our creation and the strength of the creator, we are protected, designed for survival, strong, and designed to nurture. We, regardless of our circumstances, are also resilient, turning always to the light because there is where we get our strength..
