Grace

There was a field of sunflowers that stretched as far as the eye could see. Each morning, the flowers lifted their golden faces toward the sun. And as the sun traveled across the sky, they followed. Near the middle of the field grew Grace and her friend June. They had grown side by side since they were tiny seedlings. “Good morning, sunshine!” Grace would call. And the whole field seemed to glow. But one afternoon, dark clouds rolled across the hills. The golden light disappeared, and the field grew quiet. “I don’t like the dark,” Grace whispered. “Neither do I,” said June. For a while, they stood together. Then Grace noticed she could still make out June’s soft yellow petals. “June? I can still see you.” June turned toward her. “And I can see you.” Nearby, another sunflower noticed them. “What are you looking at?” “Each other,” said Grace. “We can’t see the sun.” “Well, neither can I.” And so she turned toward them. Then another flower turned. And another. Soon, all across the field, the sunflowers were turning toward one another. The clouds had not moved. The sun had not returned. But Grace no longer felt quite so alone. “What if the sun takes a long time to come back?” she asked. June looked around at the flowers gathered together. “Then we have each other until it does.” Grace saw that every sunflower carried a little bit of gold—even the smallest ones. And together, the field seemed a little brighter. When morning came, the sunflowers lifted their faces toward the sky. “Good morning, sunshine!” Grace called. But first, she turned toward June. “Thank you for staying with me.” June smiled. “You stayed with me, too.” The sun would not always shine. But even on the darkest days, she could turn toward a friend. Because sometimes, when the light is hard to find... we can become it for someone else.