The Persistent Bumblebee

I was sitting outside Saturday morning, enjoying my favorite beverage....a cup of hot water....yeah, just one of many questionable things I find comforting......Anyway, I was sitting outside listening to a teaching from Bethel church on my iPad, hoping to take in some natural Vitamin D before the rising temperatures and dew points drove me inside.

Suddenly a huge bumblebee was in front of my face.  I jumped up and moved away and it followed me.....I moved again and it followed me again....everywhere I moved it followed. Seriously?  I quickly went inside and shut the glass storm door.  The over-sized bee hit the door trying to get to me.  Then it hit the door again..........and yet again.  Finally it moved away and I could no longer see it.  I went back outside and sat down and there it was again.....following me around until I went back inside.  Not the smartest bee on the planet but certainly persistent, it once again hit the glass over and over trying to get inside.

I spoke to the bee.  Yes, it is a bit the the west of weird, but I spoke to the bee commanding it leave.  Maybe it was the fear it heard in my voice that caused it to ignore me.  Ha!  After a few minutes of chatter I went and got our always handy spray bottle of vinegar and water....threatening to spray it.  Evidently my words did not scare the bee, but my bottle of vinegar did.  It took off, never to return.

When I told Joel about the "killer bee" that drove me out of my place of resting, he had a good laugh. Together we wondered why the bee was so interested in me.........was it my magnetic personality or was it the coconut oil that I had lathered on my skin that morning.....obviously it was the sweet smell of the oil.  You can eat it, cook with it, do "oil pulling" with it, use it as a lotion, and for its healing properties.  Evidently bees are also aware of how good it is.

Back to persistence.  That big ol' bee persisted in its quest and I was reminded of my own "quests" and the need to be persistent.  Persistence in believing that our world can be a better place to live.  Persistence that love will be our first choice when connecting with others.  Persistence in erasing the us or them mentality that permeates every part of our society.  Persistence in my quest for full healing, in my desire to know more about the Word, in my need to have a closer relationship with the Three in One and His purpose for my life and all that involves.

I hope to never encounter the over-sized bumblebee again, but I also hope to never forget the lesson in persistence he showed me.  If God can use others to send us a message He can certainly use a bumblebee to remind me to be persistent.  So, most of me is grateful for the persistent bumblebee that invaded my porch that morning.  The rest of me is keeping my trusty vinegar bottle at my side just in case.......