The Bee Keeper

Next door to us here in Silverlake is a giant tree that has, for as long as I can remember, been the home to a nest of bees. The bees keep busy pollinating flowers and collecting nectar for their hive, seemingly oblivious to the never-ending parade of children on bicycles, joggers, dog-walkers, cats, pedestrians of all kinds and drivers in all types of vehicles that pass by their tree home day after day after day.

Occasionally the hive produces another queen bee and the new queen and a group of her loyal subjects leave the nest and swarm to another location where they set up shop and establish a new home for themselves. Last summer, they swarmed a mailbox near ours, presenting a problem for that neighbor and for Kathleen, our rural mail carrier, who faithfully delivers our mail.

Rogue, our next-door neighbor, whose tree contains the beehive, talked with a bee-keeper friend of his, who secured a special box from him, which the bee-keeper used to “move the hive.” They placed the box in Rogue’s vegetable garden and the bees continued “business as usual” content in their new location. Nobody got hurt during the transfer of the hive due to the bee-keeper’s expertise.

I watched this process in awe, knowing the importance of bees for pollination, yet respecting their little stingers and the damage they could easily do to humans if they were so inclined.

When I was young I got stung on the leg while climbing over my parent’s wood pile during a game of hide and seek with some neighbor kids. My leg swelled up a lot but eventually it subsided and the itchiness disappeared. I forgot all about it until I was about 12 and was stung between the eyes by a wasp in the shower stall of a camp I was attending. My face swelled quickly. I couldn’t see because my eyes were swollen shut! The camp nurse told me I was having an allergic reaction and needed a shot to stop the reaction. I forgot what they gave me, but it worked and eventually I was OK.

Except for one thing. From that day on, I had a new companion: FEAR of BEES!

Whenever I’d see a bee, I’d panic until it was gone. If a bee flew anywhere near me when I was outside, I’d RUN for cover. My children picked up on this and became fearful of bees too. One time we were driving on the freeway to a family event and a bee flew in the car. The children and I panicked so much that my husband could barely keep the car on the road. Before we knew it, one of the kids had opened the care door while we were still driving the speed limit, and tried to let the bee out of the car! That’s when I realized there was something WORSE than a bee sting; crazy behavior caused by FEAR of bees! After that day, I prayed for deliverance from my fear of bees and healing from my allergy of to them.

God is faithful. I have been stung one more time – as an adult. I was trying on a pretty blouse at a garage sale and a hornet was hiding in the sleeve and stung me four times! I calmly called 911 and told the paramedics I’d had allergic reactions in the past and they came right over, ready to administer the shot, if I needed it. But this time it was different, I wasn’t AFRAID. I didn’t panic. And the shot wasn’t needed because the swelling was waning by the time they arrived and almost gone by the time they left. I also got a chance to tell the paramedics about my prayers for healing and deliverance. As I’d hoped, I’d been delivered and healed and also had a chance to test that and make sure of it.

My Dear Heavenly Father, the Ultimate Bee-Keeper, has proven once again that He is able to take care of even Paddy “Bee”.

THANK YOU, LORD!

Happy 2011 to all you “Busy Bees” out there. Keep doing all the good you can while you can & don’t “bee” distracted by small stuff. You have something important to do today. Go DO it!

Comment on this column and more online @ valleybugler.com
Paddy enjoys hearing from her readers and can be reached at 360.274.5231

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