Honey Bees Wait
…(T)hey’re clustered together
inside (an oak tree), queen at the heart of their sisterhood. The fine,
transparent wings they beat hard in summer’s heat—a constant buzzing fan to
keep the hive from cooking—they hold, now, folded and still. The tiny muscles
to which those wings are attached shiver. One honey bee shivering her flight
muscles does not make much heat. But twenty thousand, huddled together,
shivering, can keep the queen and the colony’s honey supply at their core at a
tropical ninety-two degrees Fahrenheit, even as blizzard winds, inches away,
flail the trunk.” –Gayle Boss, All Creation
Waits: the Advent Mystery of New Beginnings, p. 14
Surviving winter’s darkness,
waiting for spring’s light, is a hard part of life for most of us.
In a time when our culture
expects us to be merry and bright, we are feeling sad and dull.
Perhaps December need not be the
busiest month. Maybe this isn’t the season to eat and drink more than a body
really needs. Buzz around less. Cuddle more.
Say ‘no’ to some invitations. Tell
the truth: tonight, I am spending time holding still, staying warm until the
blizzard passes.
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