Beauty surrounds us, but we usually need to be walking in a garden to know it - Rumi
The lavender bushes in the garden are in full bloom now so that the bees are taking full advantage of the sunshine to feed on the profusion of nectar they produce.Last evening as I put out the waste bins for collection in the morning a bee stung me on the hand. Although painful at the time I can understand why he did that. He was afraid of this large shape that had intruded on his space.
Fear is a natural but very powerful emotion .that affects us all in some way or another. It may be fear of flying,fear of spiders or perhaps the consequences of illness or of death. I suppose it all comes down to a fear of the unknown which is what the bee felt, I am sure.Then maybe there is a fear, real or imagined of other people, especially if those people are well, different in some way. Can we put aside our fears and, dare I say it, our prejudices to accept them or do we reject them? The word compassion is easy to say but putting it i n to practice is another matter! Then Jesus' words come to mind: "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even those who do not believe love those who love them." Luke 6:32. With God's help we can overcome our fears and accept the unknown as the Psalmist wrote many years ago: 'I sought the Lord's help, He set me free from all my fears' Psalm 34:4
1 Comment
2/9/2019 02:17:47 pm
Your description of the lavender is so beautiful I am inhaling its intoxicating scent right now. And your description of the bee caused me to move my hand, as if stung myself. The analogy of fear is a good one - and I am often praying for freedom from it.
Reply
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorI am an Authorised Local Preacher in an Anglo Catholic parish church, in the Diocese of Essex UK Archives
February 2022
|