Honey, 'Bee' Grateful
You can tell me all of the benefits of Honey Bees, and I will be so grateful to have them doing their thing in the world, but that all changes when one lands on my leg.
I have this emotional hiccup of being a young child in my backyard on Rogge Lane. It was a happy summer day, and I was running through the yard, feeling the breeze against my skin, when I noticed the Honey Bee swarming around my head.
Thoughts jumped into my peace -
"Don't move. They will go away."
"You are bigger than them. They are much more scared of you than you are of them."
I stood still. I thought about me, the 7 year old giant standing calmly in the presence of this tiny inconsequential thing.
...and, that's when it stung me.
The mixture of betrayal and pain swirled around me. I ran to the house where I was promptly taken care of.
So...it is no surprise that bees make me feel uncertain. Their sting is not to be taken lightly.
There are a lot of stings in life, aren't there? The sting of a lost relationship, the sting of betrayal, the sting of defeat, the sting of cruel words carelessly spoken.
Not many people like to talk about it, but we all face the greatest sting of all - death. The 'sting' of death comes to take us or a loved one away. This pain hurts like none other. We were never meant to be separated from those we love. That was not the original design.
I love how the Lord in His deep love for us shows us life through nature. And, I love that he designed something like the Honey Bee that reminds me of His love in times of suffering and loss.
You may already know the Honey Bee loses its' stinger and dies after its' sting.
A father and his son were in the car, when a bee swarmed in through the window. The boy grew very scared. The small intruder came to land on the father's arm and proceeded to sting him.
"It got you, Daddy! Here he comes after me!"
The father calmly said, "It's okay, son. He stung me first, so he will not be stinging you. Rest easy."
Our Heavenly Father has done the same thing, right?
He took the sting upon himself on the cross, once and for ALL. Just like that bee, death from this life will indeed enter the picture - none of us are immune.
BUT, the stinger is gone.
Rest easy.
"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?...thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:55-57
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