05/20/2024
A few thoughts on honey… 🍯
Honey.
My husband started an apiary three summers ago. The result of his hobby is a life centered around all things bees: honey, feeding, insulating, catching swarms, filtering wax, hive checking, re-queening when necessary, and watering.
I’ve never used quite so much honey in my life.
This morning, I rose early to bake bread and enjoy the hushed hours of the day. Honey jobs greeted me, so I jumped in, but in my half-awake state several things went less than efficiently… and I ended up with sticky fingers. Frustrated, I headed to the sink.
Suddenly, the Spirit stopped me in my tracks: “Gracious words are like honey; sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” (Prov 16:24)
This morning, my frustration rose with honey’s clinging nature. I wanted to wash it off immediately because it adheres to anything and everything I touch…and yet, it teaches me and gives me the edge of new revelation. Honey is a metaphor that lives beside me and gives me hope that the Word is sticky in nature, difficult to simply wash away. It is sweet and healing, a balm to a needy soul.
Yesterday I received a compliment that eased a question in my mind. Like honey, I pray it sticks. Psychology says criticism stays with us longer than similar praise–and I’ve experienced this–but this morning, I’m leaning into honey’s lesson for me… may the Word, and kind words, adhere with the tenacity of nature’s sweetener.