Sunflowers

I’ve reclaimed ownership

            Of my abandoned field

Buildings crumbling to their foundations

            Dug up brick by brick

Tangled overgrowth choking off life

            Cut through, discarded, burned

Breaking up hardened ground

            Resistant clods of dirt unable to receive

Uprooting lifeless tree stumps

            Removing boulders, rocks, stones

Turning and tilling the soil

            Over and over, deeper and deeper

Until soft enough to receive new life

            Water, nourishment, the penetrating warmth of the sun

Finally ready for seeds to be sown

The Master Gardener who has prepared the land

            Carefully chooses the seeds

New waiting begins

            A time to trust in the unseen

Germination needs darkness

Seed shells soften and break down

            Putting forth roots

Growing stronger, deeper

            Always searching for life-giving nourishment

Movement, gentle yet strong

            Invisible at the surface

Some might say nothing is happening

            They’re proven wrong when the time is right

Tiny shoots begin to push forth

            Green leaves seeking the light

Fullness of growth begins to appear

In the tender hands of the Master Gardener

            Pruning and weeding continue

Sunflower seeds become sunflowers

            Authentic in their identity

Seeking to be none other

            Than themselves

True nature seeks direction from the sun

Seeks direction from the Son

            Never to be abandoned again.

 August 23, 2021

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