Seeds of Hope

Check out this sunflower that is right in the middle of my lawn! I did NOT plant it...it just showed up one day...maybe planted by a bird? I asked my daughter to plant the sun flower seeds that we harvested last year. What I did not know was that she didn't plant them...she just TOSSED them all into the garden. I found out later when I saw all the seed shells left over by the birds that had eaten the seeds that were lying unprotected, on top of the earth in the garden beds.

Then this began to grow in the middle of the lawn & we left it there & mowed around it. How could we know it would grow & grow & grow at least 10 ft tall so far? It looks like a bean stalk...& those GIGANTIC leaves? Soaking up ALL that energy for ONE flower?

 Initially I was thinking what a waste of energy for just ONE flower. kwim? Then my friend pointed out it probably needed ALL that energy because that ONE flower produces so many SEEDS! Bingo!

Sometimes hope feels like such a waste of energy--doesn't it? And it can feel SO lonely. But it springs up--out of place, unexpectedly, in the middle of what feels like NOTHING, at the oddest of times, out of season--like the middle of winter? ;-)

When it blooms--we can't even imagine how many seeds are produced from that ONE bloom of hope...that will be planted & grow into many more blooms of hope!

Hallelujah!

This is my son next to the sunflower that's getting ready to bloom. We took this pic today. My son is about 6ft tall...so this thing has got to be about 10ft tall. Everyone who passes by (we get a lot of pedestrian traffic) stops & stares or comments & now, have even started taking pictures! lol

Here is another one that is obviously a different species of sunflower because it has multiple blooms (getting ready to bloom) on it but is still OVER 6ft tall. (also taken today and with my oldest making the goofiest face! haha)