What's the buzz?

Yesterday, I needed to check my honeybee hive.  I added a new super a while ago and wanted to check on the progress of the bees.  So, I donned on all of my beekeeping garb and set out to have a look.  Now my bee expert friends tell me that a true beekeeper does not wear any of that stuff, but I haven't gotten brave enough yet to face the swarm without protection.  And so far, I haven't gotten stung, so I prefer to leave things as they are!

If you have never taken the lid off a hive, you have no idea of the noise they produce, but I can assure you, it is very loud.  It still unnerves me considerably when I first pry off the lid and hear the first of the angry buzzing the bees make in symphony and it takes a few moments for me to get over the initial fear of bees flying all around me. After looking at the super and determining there was still ample room for more honey production, I was satisfied.  This super will last until next spring when the honey flow begins again.

I am amazed that although it looks like mass chaos in the hive, there is a plan and purpose to the commotion.  Did you know that in order to produce just one teaspoon of honey, a bee must visit 4,200 flowers and will travel up to four miles to find that nectar?  And did you know that the drone bee does not possess a stinger?  Its main function is to stay at the hive and take care of the babies. The worker bees collect food and the queen bee stays busy laying eggs. Each bee has a job to do and they work together in harmony to go about their day.  It is amazing to me how it happens, when I can't seem to get two children to sit next to each other for ten minutes without fighting!

Looking at a hive, it is hard to deny that God's hand is not involved in its creation. Each cell of the honeycomb, each drop of honey, each wing of the bee were all perfectly made.  And if He took the time and care into the design of a bee, doesn't He care even more for you and me?

"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the fields grow.  They do not labor or spin.  Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?"  Matthew 6:28  NIV