August 22 – “The Sunflower Tree”

Cailyn arrived the other day shortly after I had spent the morning doing yard work.  And I have to confess that was the day my body gave out shortly before all the work was completed.  As a result there was a big pile of tree branches still strewn all over the back yard.  And amongst those branches was the remnants of the rooftop sized sunflower tree.  I know, sunflowers are not technically trees, but when they are bigger than the house, I give them the benefit of the doubt.  I had chopped it way back to where only about a three foot shaft of the trunk remained.  Last year we pulled it up by the roots.  Couldn’t do it this year.  Not for lack of trying.  The thing just wouldn’t turn loose.  Oh, and the only reason we have a huge sunflower tree in our backyard is because our granddaughter wanted one. 

So Cailyn made her way into the backyard and waded through the rubble for a few minutes before it hit her.  The sunflower was gone.  She quickly made the connection and approached me about the situation.

Cailyn (pensively, almost wistfully):  “DadDad, why did you cut down my sunflower?”

Me (feeling rather gardner-ish and somewhat theological): “Well, that’s what you have to do every year.  Sunflowers – plants - need to be cut back like that.  Sometimes they even look like they are dead.  But then, when Spring gets here and the time is right, they start growing again.  It’s kind of like when Jesus came.  He had to die to take care of our sins, but then he rose from the dead at just the right time.  And now we can believe in him and go to heaven when we die.”

Whew.  The gospel in a nutshell – er, sunflower seed – for a five-year-old.  I wasn’t sure if she got anything at all out of my attempt, but she was paying very close attention as I spoke.  And when I finished she flashed me one of her patented gorgeous smiles, rolled her eyes just a little bit, and as she frolicked away threw this final tidbit over her shoulder, “I know all that, DadDad.”

That’s my prayer, Little Darlin’.  That’s my prayer indeed.

Jeremiah 31:3 says, “The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.”

Father, keep your presence alive and active in the lives of all of our little guys.  Amen.