Spring Rains, Dandelions, & Honeybees

Spring rains . . . gentle ones or thunder boomers . . . I love them all! The cracks of thunder make me jump, but I love a good thunderstorm . . . without destruction, of course! I love the smell of rain! And rain floods my soul with childhood memories . . . my mother sewing on her treadle sewing machine . . . the porch swing . . . mud puddles . . . splashing in the water running down the curb . . .

The rain we had this past week was neither gentle nor a thunder-boomer and was too cold to play in. Yes, I still walk in the water running down the curb!

Lightening filled the sky as we drove home from Omaha this past Thursday night. We kept anticipating cracks of thunder, but nothing. To me, lightening without thunder is like eating movie theater popcorn without extra butter!

One of the first “flowers” to bloom, and I use that term loosely, is the dandelion. In our yard, the dandelion is a curse. But the dandelion is a blessing to bees and beekeepers, alike!

Ken and I used to have honeybees, 4 hives to be exact. It was a fascinating hobby with a VERY sweet reward! Nothing sweeter than honey or honeycomb right off the hive . . . by the spoonful or honeycomb on a piece of hot, buttered toast . . . real butter, of course! Those of us with allergies, eating honey from our area is very beneficial.

There are three simple rules to keeping bees happy . . .

First, place the hives near a good food source . . . in Nebraska, an alfalfa field. Yummo!!!

Second, don’t approach the hive from the front. If you do, you will be met by the guard bee, which will NOT stop pursuing you until he stings you or you kill him, whichever happens first.

Third, don’t drop the super, the individual boxes that make up a hive! Ken did this once when we were “working the hives!” YIKES!!! Let me tell you from personal experience, there’s not enough smoke to calm the thousands . . . yes thousands . . . of bees making a beeline for you, their sole purpose to take you out!

If bees think there is a fire or have outgrown the hive or a second queen hatches, the bees will gorge themselves on honey and leave the hive. Full of honey, the bees are content and happy.

So how does this all apply to my spiritual walk?

I need a good food source, God’s word!

“How sweet your words taste to me; they are sweeter than honey.” (Psalm 119:103 NLT)

There is no guard bee keeping me from God!

“So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” (Hebr. 4:16 NLT)

For a sweet soul and/or healing for my body . . . or maybe someone else needs soul sweetness and/or health for their body . . . speak kind words.

“Kind words are like honey – sweet to the soul and health for the body.” (Proverbs 16:24 NLT)

We haven’t had honeybees for a long time, but I am hoping one day we will become “beekeepers” once again. In the meantime, I’ll buy my honey from my neighbor up the street and stay gorged on the word of God . . . sweetness for my soul, health for my body, and kind words on my lips.