Hum this awhile, if you remember it... "Sunflower, good mornin'. You sure do make it like a sunny day. Sunflower, fair warnin'. I'm gonna love you if you come my way." Neil Diamond wrote that song back in the seventies, and Glenn Campbell made it famous.
Mr. Diamond may have had a girl in mind when he wrote that. But maybe not. Perhaps a field of giant sunflowers inspired him, or a collection of smaller ones like those that grow along my city meridians every summer. The ones that make me smile each time I pass.
Sunflowers are brilliant teachers - for those willing to learn. "Keep your face always toward sunshine, and shadows will fall behind you," Walt Whitman said. That's only one lesson. There are more.
The lovely Clytie, claims a children's fairy tale, lived under the sea. She had long flowing fair hair, wore green seaweed robes, and cultivated an underground garden and grotto, raising sea turtles and sea horses for pets.
One day Clytie heard a mermaid singing about a great golden light high above the water. Pining to see it, she climbed into her turtle carriage and fell asleep. Without her guidance, the turtles floated upwards and crashed the carriage on the rocks. Clytie waded ashore. Seeing the sun, she found the sight so glorious, she couldn't look away. For in its centre she noticed a great King, gazing back at her with love and longing.
For days, Clytie remained above water. Her attraction to the sun became a deep love. Its passion consumed her. One day, as she leaned over the water, she noticed, to her amazement, that her long hair had become a blaze of yellow flower petals. Her seaweed robes had transformed into heart-shaped leaves that fluttered about her slender form. Her tiny feet had grown roots, planted deeply into the soil.
Clytie never returned to her home below the water's surface. She had become like the one she loved and worshipped. For the rest of history, she and her children would adore the sun, closely following its majestic arc across the sky.
Clytie's story reflects a biblical teaching - we become like the things we worship. People preoccupied with nastiness become nasty. A passion for excellence develops excellence. And a passion for God leads to a bright reflection of his Son, Jesus Christ.
But even tall and bright flowers take risks when they stand alone.
I planted a line of sunflowers below my kitchen window last spring, well spaced. In a big wind, with nothing nearby to lean on, the tallest blew over. Seeing the leggy plant broken and withering on the ground, the Preacher noted, "I think sunflowers were meant to be planted close enough to support each other.
Son-followers, good mornin'. Son-followers, fair warnin'. Shadows and big winds a' comin'. Keep your face to the Son - and stand close together.
