Sunflower Fields Forever

            One of the great things about driving in this area at this time of year is the fields of sunflowers.  I grew up on a farm, but it was in southeastern South Dakota.  People don’t grow sunflowers much there, and nobody grew them there back when I was growing up.  Here, though, you see them all over.

            There are not a lot of things in nature as beautiful as a field of sunflowers in full bloom.  The greens and golds are so brilliant that I forget for a moment that those are the colors of the Green Bay Packers.  The plants all have their heads facing the same and are all of a uniform height, making it look like a fantastic sea of green and gold.

            Except.  Except that there are always few sunflowers that are different.  I’ve noticed that, in every sunflower field, there are a few sunflowers that stick their heads up above the rest.  I don’t know why that is, but it is.  Every sunflower field has just a few plants that stand out, breaking the uniformity of the field.  Somehow, those few that stand out make the field even more beautiful.

            It strikes me that people are kind of like that.  We’re beautiful as a group, but most of us don’t break outside the group.  There are always a few, though, who do.  There are always a few who poke their heads above the rest, wanting to look above the crowd, wanting to see what else might be out there.

            I don’t know why sunflowers grow that way, but I think I know part of the reason people do.  Both kinds of people, those who stay in the group and those who stick their heads above it, are necessary.  If everyone followed the group, if no one ever dared to stick their head above the crowd, things would get boring.  It would not be beautiful because no one and nothing would stand out; it would just be a stale sea of sameness.  On the other hand, if everyone went off on their own, if everyone just did their own thing, the beauty would also be destroyed.  No one would stand out then, either, because there’d be nothing to stand out from.  There’d be no organization, no structure, just chaos.

            God made each of us to be beautiful.  Some of us find our beauty be standing out from the crowd.  Others of us find our beauty be being part of a larger group.  Each is important, and each makes the world beautiful.  How are you contributing to that beauty today?