I don’t much like stinging insects. And let me just say, “They started it.” I had a mostly live-and-let-live attitude until I developed a sudden allergy ten years ago and some yellow jackets tried to kill me. Now I have a them-or-me attitude and, well, I’m hoping it’s not me.
When my husband and I mow the lawn I keep a sharp eye out for in-ground nests. And when I see one, we promptly poison it. Well, either bees are getting stronger or bee spray is getting weaker, because we’ve treated a current hive in the side yard four times and it’s still active. We used spray instead of the tried-and-true gasoline method because the hive is near my magnolia tree and we don’t want to pollute the roots with gas.
Here’s the thing. Last year, when using gas to rid the yard of nests, we’d treated three or four by mid-August. This year, we’re just battling the one, invincible hive. Which makes me wonder. Did we kill the bees last year? Or simply encourage them to relocate? And which do I prefer? One hive whose location is known? Or multiple hives that could be anywhere? Hmmmm. I thought we were making the yard safer.
All too often, when I have an issue, I want to DO something about it. I want to resolve the relational conflict. I want to take steps toward getting my books published. I want to fix the squeaky wheel. But sometimes, what is called for is patience. I need to wait for the other person to come to me. I need to let a skunk dig out the hive and eat all the bee larvae. I need to wait for God’s timing. And jumping in to do what I think needs doing can all too often have results I never anticipated.
I have Psalm 27:14 posted above my picture on this blog. “Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” I also have a rock on my desk at work that says, “Wait for God.” And that’s what this journey is about. Not passive waiting–alert, aware, ready to do His bidding waiting. That’s what I’m after.
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Thanks for this post and this reminder! We left a massive hornet nest alone this year, since it’s too high for them to reach us AND my hubby wanted them to pollinate the corn. They surely did, and they left us alone. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to get that thing down somehow this fall, though!
Love the verse. I hate waiting. HATE IT. I keep thinking, when I come out the other side of this journey-to-possible-publication, I’m not going to have anything good to say about this period of waiting. But then again, I could very well be wrong.
What a fantastic metaphor for the how things we think of as bad (hornets) can be good (fertilizing corn). That’s a post, right there!
I agree about the waiting. i don’t enjoyt it at ALL. It’s nice to have folks like you to wait with : )
Take NO chances with those yellow jackets! Our neighbor mowed into an unknown nest the other day and was whisked away by ambulance!
BTW: We were in Tolly’s Bible Book Store today and their fiction section was BOGO and I couldn’t remember a single name of any of the authors you have been posting on FB! Re: waiting… I just saw a story about putting swings at bus stops to make waiting more pleasant!
Swings at bus stops! That’s fabulous!
How about “Those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength”?
Nice! Funny how scripture speaks to waiting. It’s like God knew there’d be plenty of it ; )