Wednesday afternoon I was having a low energy and low day emotionally. I was falling asleep at my computer when I was supposed to be writing, my eyelids heavy, my heart even more so.

I decided a break in the fresh air and a little prayer would pick me up. I pulled out my dust ridden chair cushions and my lounger chair and found a pocket full of sunshine in my back yard. I laid back. Ahh, now this was a good decision.

I looked up into the sky where puffy clouds scribbled the blue and was reminded of what my sister Donna always does. She keeps her eyes up. She has sent me so many beautiful cloud pictures because her eyes are fixed above, not down at the ground where mine so often are. Down, working in the dirt as I garden. Down, working on my computer as I write. Down, working on the house…working, working, working.

Because my heart was heavy, I prayed for those who are children of God but continually choose to hurt me. When you love deeply, you hurt deeply. It's one of the difficult things about the choice to love. I could write these family members off as they have done to me, but I can't because I love them. And so, I prayed for them, for my wounded heart, and against the enemy of our soul. For the Bible says, "we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual host of wickedness in the heavenly places." Eph. 6:12 NIV

The heaviness lifted, and sweet peace came to my soul. I drifted off to sleep, there in the sunshine.

I hadn't been sleeping long when a buzzing, humming, droning filled my ears. I opened my eyes to see thousands of honeybees above me. A black funnel cloud swarmed at the edge of my flower garden above my lilac tree. I've never been afraid of bees. I talk to them when I'm gardening, as they buzz on by. I never swat at them, or run, we coexist in the space. They need my flowers, and I need them to pollinate. But this was a whole lot different with thousands upon thousands in close proximity. I got up and went into the house viewing the spectacle from the safety inside.

Feeling refreshed, I went back to my writing.

I checked a little later and all was calm. I could not see them. I thought they had left. The next morning, I got up and went about my day. I randomly glanced out at my flower garden from my kitchen sink and low and behold, a very large, dark, sack like ball hung from a pine tree branch just above the lilac tree.

"No way!" I screamed as I ran out with my phone. "This can't bee." (A little fun with a pun.) I snapped some shots and marvelled at the sheer number of my visitors. They were cocooned together. Quiet and serene.

I couldn't wait for my husband to get home from work so he could see them too. But, twenty-four hours almost to the minute, they lifted up, up, and away. Gone. I did not see them leave, but I had been checking regularly every half hour. One moment they were there the next gone.

I beelieve all things happen for a reason. This spectacular visitation was not by chance. I was so disappointed that I had not been able to share this with another soul. But God spoke to me. "That was just for you. Before you were born, I knew you. I picked your name—Blossom Honey. (Yup that's my first and second name.) I created you to love flowers and bees. I knew what choices you would make in the face of cruelty and betrayal. I sent this swarm of honeybees as an expression of my love. I heard your prayers for your family. Keep on…BEEing sweet like honey. Keep on...BEEing the girl that prays for your enemies. Keep on...BEEing loving. The reward is yours."

So, to you my dear readers, He (Yahweh, The Great I Am, The First and Last, The Beginning and The End, The Alpha and The Omega) knows your circumstances too. He wants me to share this experience, so you too will know that He sees your heart and what you're going through. If you're experiencing family drama, if you're shunned and cut off, if you're hurting because you love but are unloved in return, look up to your Maker for strength. "Bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you," as Luke 6:28 encourages. Choose love and forgiveness in the face of hatred and you will always BEE honey sweet in God's eyes, in the only eyes that truly matter. 

Listen to this beautiful worship song called Honey Bee by Ray Watson. There are no graphics with this song, so just close your eyes and listen. So beautiful.