In Northern California, we have beautiful orange poppies that grow in the wild everywhere. During my morning walks, I am always amazed to look up and see them spreading like orange wildfire all over the green, lush landscape. A friend of mine once pointed out something to me that changed my view of these beautiful flowers.
via Janette Beverly’s personal blog
In the morning when the sun isn’t quite up yet, these breathtaking flowers remain closed, waiting for the sun to come up and give them the light they need to fully open. While they wait for the sun, it is the most remarkable thing to watch: they literally lean in the direction of the sunrise. The flowers crave the light and know from what direction it will come, but they aren’t sitting there passively waiting for the light—they actually reach toward it. They are proactive in obtaining their need for light and the strength it brings.
They instinctively know the direction of their source of life and light. They gather strength from knowing throughout the night that the dawn will always come, and that they will be able to draw from its light.
The Savior told us, “I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). He is that light to which we should lean towards, but like these beautiful poppies, we have to be willing to reach for Him.
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.“ (Matthew 7:7-8)
Sometimes in life, we lean away from His source of light—we lean unto our own understanding and rely on our own strength. Then the problem arises: we’ve walked so far into the darkness that our “petals” no longer open at all. We lose our natural instinct of where the light comes from because we have not leaned into it for such a long time.
The Savior tells us:
“Come unto me, all ye that labor and our heavy laden and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
The truth of this statement came to me during a particularly difficult time in life where I had to put my trust in Jesus Christ and all of my energy focused on just putting one foot in front of the other. I found that all the chocolate and Diet Coke in the world couldn’t make me feel ok. I needed more. I needed strength that surpassed my own and the peace that passeth all understanding. He gave me that, but only when I asked Him for it and then trusted and waited. I asked Him for it every day—sometimes even every hour, every minute.
If we, like these beautiful poppies, wait patiently on the light of the Savior to permeate our lives and bring us growth and strength, He will make something glorious from our lives—more glorious than anything we could possibly make on our own.
Janette Beverley is a lover of life, family, music, and the gospel of Jesus Christ.
She has a bachelor's degree in psychology with an emphasis in marriage and family therapy, and has five amazing children and one equally amazing husband.
Janette is excited to be writing for LDS Blogs and sharing her love and passion for finding the miraculous among the mundane, the awe-inspiring among the obvious, and the uplifting among the underestimated.
To read more of her work, you can visit Janette's personal blog here.
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