“Keep your face to the sunshine, and you cannot see the shadow. It’s what sunflowers do.” This statement, which has been attributed to Helen Keller, shows remarkable insight. 

Sunflowers are known to turn their faces toward the sun and follow it from east to west over the course of the day. Even on the darkest days, sunflowers will follow the sun as it shines through the cloud cover, because sunlight supports their development. To me, this is a perfect illustration of how we can expect to receive wonderful blessings when we turn to God’s continuous, healing light, even when confronted by difficult situations. 

The Bible uses the imagery of light as a symbol for God. For example: “The Lord is my light and my salvation” (Psalms 27:1). And Mary Baker Eddy voices this idea in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: “The sun, giving light and heat to the earth, is a figure of divine Life and Love, enlightening and sustaining the universe” (p. 538). 

For several years, off and on, I had to resist paralyzing fear for the safety of a family member who was struggling with drug addiction. I often remembered the sunflower and how I’ve always reminded our family that we are all “sunflowers.” By this I mean that because we are created in the image and likeness of God (see Genesis 1:26), we effortlessly reflect all the beautiful qualities of God and have the innate ability to face the light of God, good, just as the sunflower faces the light of the sun.

During this difficult time, my goal was to persistently keep my thought on the spiritual reality of a loving, ever-present Father-Mother God protecting and guiding all of His beloved children. Even at times when I didn’t have any idea where this dear one was, God knew, and was with him. I was also buoyed by the reminder from the Bible that we all live and move and have our being in God, reinforcing the idea that each of us is forever safe and learning valuable lessons along the way.

Man’s natural inclination is attraction to the spiritual light of good, which can never be diminished by dark clouds of sin, fear, and doubt.

To me, the sunflower’s strong and upright stem represents loyalty and robust bonds. From an extremely grateful heart, I wanted to express my love for God by being loyal to the First Commandment, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3), and to understand that nothing had the power to take control from God, good. This loyalty to God and the First Commandment strengthened the bond I felt with God, as well as my adoration of and faith in Him. 

In the Bible, David demonstrated unwavering trust in God when facing Goliath, a giant greatly feared by the Israelites (see Samuel 1:4–50). David didn’t flinch in his absolute trust in the omnipresent power of God, no matter how strong the opposition seemed to be. Similarly, I knew I didn’t need to be influenced by the fear of danger and death connected with certain drugs. I could keep my gaze confidently fixed on God’s omnipotence, and trust that everyone was protected in His care.

I also considered the tender bond between mother and child, and how divine Love’s gentle embrace—eternal, unconditional, and steadfast—had been mothering both this loved one and me. Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son (see Luke 15:11–24) provided additional comfort. The younger son in the story left home to engage in “riotous living,” but the father was always there for him, ready to welcome him back. Moreover, the son finally turned his life around and came home—literally and figuratively—returning to his family and to his true self. I felt this promised hope.

I maintained that man’s natural inclination is attraction to the spiritual light of good, which can never be diminished by dark clouds of sin, fear, and doubt. While I held to this truth for my family member, I also needed to let go of the nagging guilt and worry that perhaps it was something I had done or not done that had caused this behavior. These feelings were healed as I recognized that I didn’t need to look for causes or consequences for things that weren’t part of God’s spiritual creation and therefore could not affect either this precious one’s life or mine. He and I are both innocent, and I began to gratefully accept that fact. I was truly basking in the shining splendor of the Christ, which brings healing and freedom.

This commitment to “be a sunflower,” to keep my mental gaze on God alone, enabled me to gain peace and expectancy of good. And because I knew I could expect good, I was able to genuinely express joy—my natural state—throughout this time. 

After a while, I learned that this loved one had been protected in several dire circumstances and had made considerable progress in many areas, including overcoming the drug addiction. I am so grateful for this clear proof of God’s love for all His children, as well as for the lessons I learned along the way. 

When we turn to God and His goodness, our faces will most assuredly be following the light, even if menacing clouds try to darken our view.

So, can you be a sunflower? Of course—we all can!