Wildflowers and Sunflowers

I really love the springtime. I don’t do cold well, so I love when the air warms enough for me to be able to put on a pair of shorts and bask in the sun. I also love how enlivened the songs of the birds and emergence of fresh green leaves on the trees make me feel. But the thing I love the most about spring is the wildflowers. It’s hard to express the jubilance that builds within me when I see the first blooms. A literal audible noise comes out of me, mimicking my enthusiasm. My husband would tell you that’s a good thing!!!

This year was especially exciting to me because of the super bloom. I was unable to go see the super bloom a few years ago so I made it a mission to see as much of it as I could this year.

First, I went to Carrizo Plain, about an hour and a half west of Bakersfield. The closer I got the more flowers I saw. When I finally got Carrizo, I was in awe. The mountains, drenched mostly in vivid yellow flowers, with a splattering of bold purple and bright orange fields, popped against the clear blue sky. It was majestic…breathtaking…surreal.

A couple weeks later my work took me up the Grapevine. I was a little disappointed that it was too early for the wildflowers to bloom in the area, so I took the very long way home and drove through the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve. As I got closer and saw more flowers the excitement within me swelled like the incoming tide. When I turned on Lancaster Road, I was blown away by the sea of orange masterfully painted across the hill. And after gleefully hiking through the reserve, immersed in the blanketed terrain, I reluctantly drove home passing through a seemingly unending expanse of dynamic orange wonderment. Again, it was majestic…breathtaking…surreal.

Throughout the spring I continued to watch the beauty of the flowers from one end of the central valley to the other. And since we had a mild spring, God’s masterpiece lasted longer than recent years.  But alas, summer came, and the beautiful blooms dried. The once vibrant fields turned into a lackluster terrain of brownish barrenness. As the colorful utopia of the wildflowers gave way to the end of the season, I became less excited on my commutes. Perhaps it was the extreme summer heat, or that to me spring represents new life…new hope, I found myself feeling melancholy when driving out of town through the fields of dead flowers.

Not too long ago, however, after weeks, if not months, of driving through the dried terrain I noticed a wild sunflower bush on the side of the road. Then another. And another. Strong healthy stalks with deep roots and bright yellow sunflowers were flourishing amongst the withered flowers that not too long ago had captivated my entire attention. I’m sure the sunflowers had been there during all the weeks of summer, but I hadn’t noticed them until that day, likely due to the fact that I stopped looking for the beauty outside on my journeys.

As I continued to drive God gently whispered to my soul that His love, His grace and His truth is like the stunning sunflowers along the side of the road. Isaiah 40:8 tells us: “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” Everything that is not of God that we think is important withers.

Tears rolled down my cheeks as I heard Him speak to me. I had been in a dry season lately and hadn’t seen much beauty around me. Just as the spring flowers had dried up so had the joy in my life. I was still mourning the loss of my mom. I was often consumed by the crushing burden of financial debt. My weight was at an all time high, and felt my beauty was at an all time low. I was tired. Relationships at home were strained. I often pushed friends, family and God away while drowning in a sea of loneliness and hopelessness. My focus was inward, dwelling on everything that I had lost, or what I was in fear of losing.

God saw my pain, and He spoke to me. He invited me to draw near to Him and promised that His love and mercy were not fleeting. He promised that He would not leave me or forsake me. He promised to give me the strength I needed for all my circumstances. He told me that if I would allow the roots of His word and the roots of His love to dig deep into my soul I would be refreshed, and my joy would be renewed.

That day I realized that I had been putting my hope in things of this world. The things that I had been wasting most of my energy on really weren’t that important. I needed to stop looking inward and to start looking out and up, and He would show me more beauty than I could ever fathom.

Needless to say, I still love the wildflowers and I look forward to seeing them again next year. When they fade, however, I will look for the sunflowers to brighten the hot summer days. I also look forward to the future wildflower seasons of my life where God will undoubtedly grace me with material things and unexpected, undeserved blessings. If and when those gifts wither, I will look to the “Sonflower.” God’s beauty will always be there, and His love will never fade. He is majestic…breathtaking…surreal.

Dear Lord, thank You for the glorious wildflowers each spring and the beauty they add to this amazing world. Thank You even more for Your unfailing beauty and the promise that Your love is everlasting, even in the driest seasons of my life. Please help me to look to You when the earthly things wither and to hold tightly to Your promises. Please help me to desire You and seek You in all things. Amen

Verses for reflection:

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8

 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. Colossians 2:6-7 NIV

 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Matthew 13:6 NIV