Sunflowers, Sun and The Son
Sunflowers have been symbols of worship to the "sun god" for thousands of years. Why? They follow the sun! I've been a fan of sunflowers for decades because of their practice of keeping their face to the sun. What a fascinating parallel to Christ's teaching that we, His followers, need to keep our faces to the Son! Let's look at some information about Sunflowers.
Sunflowers in the bud stage exhibit heliotropism (track the sun's motion across the sky from East to West). At sunrise, the faces of most sunflowers are turned towards the east. Over the course of the day, they follow the sun from east to west, while at night they return to an eastward orientation. This motion is performed by motor cells in the pulvinus, a flexible segment of the stem just below the bud. As the bud stage ends, the stem stiffens and the blooming stage is reached.
I crept into my neighbor's yard early one morning and caught this photo of her beautiful Sunflower, covered with morning dew, and "in progress". It brought a very old hymn to mind.
Sunflowers in the bud stage exhibit heliotropism (track the sun's motion across the sky from East to West). At sunrise, the faces of most sunflowers are turned towards the east. Over the course of the day, they follow the sun from east to west, while at night they return to an eastward orientation. This motion is performed by motor cells in the pulvinus, a flexible segment of the stem just below the bud. As the bud stage ends, the stem stiffens and the blooming stage is reached.
I crept into my neighbor's yard early one morning and caught this photo of her beautiful Sunflower, covered with morning dew, and "in progress". It brought a very old hymn to mind.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. Romans 1:20
4 Encouraging Comments:
I like way you get water drops on flower. Very pretty.
Thank you, Hing Su
The sunflower in your photo looks so refreshing. Makes me want to stand in the rain. Never knew it was motor cells that made the flower turn. You're so smart!
Thanks, Nikki. I love looking at it, myself. It makes me happy! Sunflowers have always made me feel happy! Yes, hard to imagine there are "motor cells" in that beautiful flower. Sounds like something for a car! :-D