I recently was driving north on Interstate 35 near Duluth,

Minn., and exited on a ramp that would take me over the Blatnik Bridge to Superior, Wis. Just as I exited the interstate, I saw a golden sunflower growing through the blacktop on the shoulder of the road.

Holy Goose Bumps! The head of the flower was perfect, all golden

petals, and the stem and leaves were green and also perfect. As I drove by, I thought, “That sunflower had everything it needed to grow big and healthy in an unlikely, challenging spot.”

The words, “everything it needed,” hung around in my mind as seeds for a Holy Goose Bumps column. My thoughts began. There had to be a hole in the blacktop, and somewhere beneath that asphalt and the layer of aggregate stone below there was rich, nutritious soil.

Rainwater must have leaked through the hole to water that seed. And enough sunlight must have penetrated that tiny hole as well. That little sunflower seed must have been awakened with some inner voice saying, “Time to grow. Time to look up. Time to get tough. Time to stand in defiance of the thousands of car and truck tires that could stray over the white edgeline to tear your tender leaves to pieces.

Time to be what you were intended to be.”

I then thought, “no matter what the circumstances we are in” Jesus is all we need. The Bible tells us in Philippians 4:19 that “God will supply all of our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” I asked myself if there could be any situations in our lives where Jesus walking beside us wouldn’t be enough. I know there are times when we think that we can’t go on, but, still, Jesus is all we need. No pavement is too tough. No darkness is too dark. No opposition is too strong. Jesus is all we need.

The best example I could think of in the Bible was Job. Job lost everything he had — his family, his possessions and his health. His wife turned nasty on him, as did his friends. Suffering and evil hit Job time and time again. Job didn’t understand, but he never lost his faith in God. Job 13:15a says, “Though He slay me, yet will I hope in Him.”

Because Job was faithful and steadfast, God restored Job, gave him another family and other possessions.

You might say, well, that is in the Bible and living in this day and age is much worse. I’m not sure that things could get worse than they did for Job, but I did think of several people, no matter what the circumstances, still believe that Jesus is all they need to get them through life.

One example — going to school can be tough for kids. We’ve heard about bullying incidents and challenges to kids’ faith in God. It can be hard to be a Christian in schools nowadays. Kids can be pretty tough on each other.

However, I just heard about Isaac, a young boy in grade school who manages to live his life as a Christian young man. In fact, he talks to his friends about Jesus from time to time. He even invited one of his friends to Bible camp and that friend gave his life to Jesus while at camp.

Just like the sunflower I saw, this young man has Jesus and that is all he needs to become what God intends for him to be, no matter how rough the school playground becomes.

Another example — illnesses that rob people of their strength can challenge their faith in God. Not so with one of the Living Stones News columnists. Reta Engelhardt, who writes “Silver Linings,” was diagnosed in February 2005 with myelodysplastic syndrome, a blood cancer. (Read her story on Page 3 of this month’s LSN.)

She wrote, “The closest thing I can come up with is saying I feel as though the Lord has put me in His Secret Place; a place reserved for the really hard challenges of life.” She claims Psalm 91:1: “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty (Whose power no foe can withstand).”

Reta exemplifies a life steeped in the love of Jesus and the confidence to walk with Him no matter where He leads. For Reta, Jesus is all she needs. What an inspiration Reta is to all of us.

Since February 2004, Living Stones News has published numerous testimonial articles about people whose lives have been changed because circumstances, life choices, suffering and evil had them in bondage. But, when they looked up, they found the sunlight of Jesus’

love. His refreshing living water washed over them, loosening the ropes that bound them. The Holy Spirit within them said, “It is time to grow. It is time to live out God’s plan for your life.”

What beautiful, healthy people they have become, because with Jesus they had everything they needed.

Just like that sunflower!