I have been writing about idioms whose source is the Bible, but I want to take a different direction today.
This was prompted by a few hours in my yard this past Sunday. The bees are happy. They are busy. And I found myself thinking “busy as a bee”. If you are busy as a bee, you are very busy!
I have several different types of bees on the property. I don’t know them well enough to name them, but I love them. Bees are so helpful, actually bees are quite critical to our survival.
According to bee experts at the Foot and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, a third of the world’s food production depends on bees.
I learned long ago that bees pick up pollen from one plant and spread it to others, thus pollinating that plant, allowing that plant to reproduce. They are important!
I have mentioned that my dad was a bee keeper. So, when I see a white bee box, it makes me smile and causes me to reminisce. I truly love bees, as long as they are not stinging me. (To be honest I don’t care for the black wood bees, but onward we go.)
I have also more recently learned to love the taste of honey; that was not always the case.
You can find honey in many of the foods and drinks we consume. There are many health and beauty products made from honey, I have honeycomb candles, and the lip balm I am using has totally healed my lips, it’s made from beeswax.
But I have learned something very recently, like this week, that I’m sure wasn’t knowledge back in the day.
A hive of bees will thrum its wings in the key of C, and when you put somebody with PTSD in the presence of a beehive, that C retunes their cognitive dissonance of post-traumatic stress, and over the course of a few months, that PTSD can go away, simply by being in the resonant frequency of the key of C from bees.
Isn’t that incredible! We are so wonderfully made!
I found an organization online today called Beekeeping For Veterans. It’s sounds amazing. Veterans are using beekeeping to help fight PTSD and anxiety.
According to beekeepingforveterans.com, beekeeping as a source of therapy is still in its infancy, but, veterans who have been taking on the activity say they have felt relaxed, focused, and more productive. “When things get really hectic, crazy, and you want to relax, you just put your chair out in front of the beehive and watch then go in and out.”
I love bees but I discovered the Bible does not have a lot to say about bees. There are however several mentions of honey, and I want to look at one found in the book of Exodus.
Most are familiar with the story of the children of Israel wandering in the wilderness. They grumbled, they complained, they blamed. They were angry, thirsty, and hungry, and then God sends “bread” from Heaven.
“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.” Exodus 16:4 ESV
Now, I love bread! I have never met a slice of bread I did not like. Sourdough. Potato. White. Wheat. Buttermilk. Rye….so, when I think about God sending bread from heaven, that makes me smile. But this was no ordinary bread. This was special bread.
Exodus 16:31 “…It was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.”
Yummy!
God could have given them something blander. Something that would sustain them but lacked taste. But He gave them flavor!
Are you familiar with the taste of Coriander? I am not, but according to my search this morning if you love Coriander it has a fresh, citrus taste with a strong aroma. If you don’t like Coriander it has a soapy taste and a pungent smell. Here’s hoping everyone in the camp liked Coriander.
Friend, God promises to sustain us. He cares how you feel. He cares about your cares. He wants more than anything to be a part of your coming and your going. He desires that you listen to Him. He’s got this!
“…he would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.” Psalm 81:16 ESV
by Jeanette Stark – Friday, July 14, 2023
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