Oxalis

This Oxalis is planted in some tubs attached to the chapel wall. Ahead of the morning service, in the sunshine, I snapped the little flowers swaying in the breeze.

Later in the afternoon, as I waited without the chapel to greet those attending evening worship, I noticed those same flowers had closed up for the day. Such plants are called nyctinastic. For the sunlight, they bloom. For the evening, they close the hatches. So why does Oxalis, like the dandelion, expend energy is moving? Perhaps to prevent damage from nocturnal animals, or to shield from the colder air. Or maybe, like humans, they like to sleep.

People who do not sleep well value slumber all the more. Three times in the New King James Version is sleep described as sweet, though it is also used as a metaphor for death. For those who reject life’s Author, it will be a terrible restlessness of nightmare and fear; for those who trust in the Lord Jesus, a refreshing respite from which the golden dawn shall follow.