Turn and Face the Sun.

I met my high school sweetheart 19 years ago and 12 years ago we married. George and I dated long-distance while I was living in Iowa for college. It was the days before unlimited texting plans and Facetime, so every night at 9:00pm we talked on the phone. Four years, thousands of late night calls and lots and lots of plans. 

I think young love lets in big dreams. We talked a lot about building a life on those calls. The plan usually started with winning the lottery followed by a call to a savvy (and discrete) financial planner and ended up with a big off-grid, sustainable farm. We argued about goats but we agreed on a huge garden. 

We haven’t won the lottery but we did purchase a home on some farmland. Last winter we were hanging out in the kitchen with our kids planning our garden for the summer. Hank, our youngest and the avid gardener, wanted to grow sunflowers. Hudson, our oldest and the one with entrepreneurial spirit, wanted to sell sunflowers. Our six year old and nine year old convinced us to start a business at the kitchen counter. It’s how ROOTED. at the Monyok Family Farm, a You-Pick Sunflower Patch, was born.

ROOTED.

Sunflowers have an inherent inclination to embrace the light. While they are growing, they stand tall and their blooms will turn throughout the day to face the sun. As they mature, the integrity of their stalks grow strong and can hold the weight of their blooms. Eventually, the seed heads get heavy and tilt toward the ground so that the soil will catch the ripe seeds as they drop with the promise of new growth.

As it turns out, our kids helped us find a sacred lesson about turning to face the good in life, love, and business. They teach us to seek light and truth. They teach us that growth enhances integrity. They teach us that blooms, while beautiful, can be heavy to carry. They teach us that when we’ve given all that we can to enhance the beauty of the earth, the only thing left to do is plant new seeds and watch them grow.

Who is standing tall and turning their head to face your light? 

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