3rd November 2020

What therapy there is in a bunch of sunflowers. My wife has set up an arrangement in my office – looking very Vincentesque – to greet me each morning with their beaming smile. And what a smile, that never tires nor wanes, but keeps its cheery face throughout the day. I wonder if that’s why they appear so frequently in Vincent’s paintings, because those who cared for him were intentional in filling his room with colourful counsellors.

Besides their sunny greeting, sunflowers preach two important things into my heart each morning: First about my duty to God, and second about God’s love for me. As to the first, it has long been observed that sunflowers turn their face toward the sun throughout the day. And the application to the Christian life is easy enough for any child to understand, that it is my duty toward God to keep my eyes on His Son, and to follow Him wherever He goes.

As to the second, the words of that famous Aaronic Blessing capture it well: “The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.” What a Smile, that never tires nor wanes, and even through my sad and failing times: ‘Behind a frowning providence, He hides a smiling face’. And that is the best therapy for any poor soul who sometimes feels in spirit a little Vincentesque.

DM 3^rd November 2020