The Secret Life of Bees (by Judy)

At the school where I work, a farm adjoining our property was purchased a couple of years ago. Since then, there has been much debate about what should take place there. Little by little, I have become more involved in these decisions. I feel the joy of being one with this little parcel of land as I look across our lovely fields to a local cemetery and animals grazing on a neighboring farm. Invariably a hymn from childhood distracts me: “This is my father’s world, and to my listening ears, all nature sings as round me rings the wonders of his spheres.” And one of my favorite lines, ever: “This is my father’s world. He shines in all that’s fair. In the rustling grass, I can hear him pass. He speaks to me everywhere.”

We recently received a grant from a small foundation that took us by surprise. It is for $2000, to be applied to the purchase and raising of animals. Animals! We have just put in our first herb beds. We have no animal husbandry plan, no barn, and no farmer. But never one to turn away funding offered in good faith, we have begun to think. There is an animal which is essential to the proper functioning of God’s world, and that animal is in grave danger. Doomsayers claim that the animal is disappearing because of cell phone use. The saying, “If they disappeared, man would have only four years of life left” is attributed to Albert Einstein. The Bible mentions their singularly sweet product over and over. Did you guess BEES?

I don’t know whether our small piece of God’s world will become a land of milk and honey. I do know that God’s laws, precepts and ordinances are sweeter than honey, honey from the comb. He promises that with honey from the rock He will satisfy us. I believe like Margaret Feinberg in “Scouting the Divine,” that “Inside the hive I catch a glimmer of how everything comes together for good. God is able to orchestrate what seems like nothing more than a swarm of buzz into a healthy, productive source of nutrition and sustainability.” Oh bees of ours, we have lessons to learn from you, both about our Creator and about each other. We begin this journey tomorrow when I meet with a local beekeeper! More later...