Compassion plants its seeds in the healing wounds of a badly broken heart.

My value can only be found in the offering. My value cannot be derived from the reception of the offering. Many people try to derive their value from how the offering is received. They delay releasing a book because it may not be liked. They delay displaying a painting or giving a speech because of how it might be received. They delay applying for a desired job because they don’t believe they’re valuable enough.

This is a recipe for disappointment. This is a recipe for undulating emotions. This is a recipe for living life at the mercy of the emotional whims of others. 

I can only control what is being offered, the quality of what is being offered, and how it is being offered. I offer to God. My value is derived from offering my very best to Him using the talents given by Him. He rewards based on the offering and the heart from which it is received. When I have done my best, my part is complete.

I cannot control how the offering is received by the world. I cannot control what the world perceives. When I demand that an offering be received in a certain way, I take away the authority of the receiver to receive the offering using his or her own values.

This is a control issue – when I demand to derive value from both the giving and the receiving, I am seeking to control the receiver.

I live in a very rural area of North Carolina. There’s a lot of open and wooded land. There is an area called the Game Lands. It’s government owned. 

Each year, the administrators of the land plant fields in various crops. Corn, soybeans, and sunflowers seem to be frequent choices. The crops aren’t harvested, so I have to believe that the effort is to attract game to the Game Lands. I’m sure that they don’t plant stuff just for me to look at. 

This year, I have thoroughly enjoyed all the sunflower fields! I love the flowers. They’re bright, yellow and grow tall. They turn their faces to the sun. They have so much hope! None of them complain about where they’re planted, who their neighbor is, that the sun is too bright or the rain too cool, that bugs landed on them or bees stole some of the nectar, There’s no competition over which is the biggest. They grow where planted and bloom in their situation to the best of their ability.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Christians had that same attitude? I think I want to be a “Sunflower Christian”. I’ll show up with a sunny attitude and grow the best I can where God has planted me. I’ll give smiles to the world around me regardless of their political beliefs, economic status, life history, or whether they’re smiling at me.

God needs more Sunflower Christians! He has enough Cactus Christians – you know, the prickly ones that may bloom occasionally, but are mostly needling others and hurting feelings. Are you a Sunflower Christian or a Cactus Christian? Are you growing where you’re planted and doing the best you can with the situation at hand? God doesn’t call us to be cacti… He calls us to be flowers. If you’re a sunflower in an ocean of cacti, don’t let it get you down. One flower blooming can brighten many days.

Advice is easy to give and hard to follow. Have you ever seen that person who knows all the right answers for every persons life, but his own life is a train wreck? Have you ever known that person who knows just how to start a new business, leave a failing job, and make life spectacular, but she never follows her own lead? 

Let’s face it. Life is not easy. Life is not simple. Life is not a canned answer. Life is messy. People are complicated. Obstacles really do exist. The things that look simple may not be simple. Sometimes fear is a legitimate response. 

Be gentle with yourself when the answers aren’t coming. Be gentle with yourself when fear comes calling. Be gentle with yourself when the good advice is advice you just can’t take. 

For those giving advice, perhaps some help is in order as well. If you are advising someone to find a new job, offer to help with the resume. When you advise that starting a business is a great idea, help with seed money or contacts. When you advise someone to go back to college, follow up with offering to do one thing to tangibly support – keep the children, buy the books, pay the first semester tuition. 

Advice is the easy part. How invested are we in the advice we’ve given? If we’re not willing to invest, perhaps offering no advice is best.

Only our spirit flies home. Our witness remains.