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Yesterday I went for a walk. It was supposed to be a power walk to try and get a bit fitter. A pleasant walk in the sun, whilst also exercising. Plus, I had Ezekiel attached. He has another cold, and I thought that a walk, with him in the sling, would settle him.
Best laid plans, and all that...
He cried. He cried for most of the 1.3 miles round our village. I'm sure that people were peeping out their windows, wondering who was torturing the small person. It was certainly a motivation to power walk as fast as I could, to get home and feed him! (It was that, or plonk myself down in the middle of the pavement and feed him instantly - on second thoughts, I decided I already adequately fulfilled the criteria of "local crazy woman", with my band of 9 offspring, who are home educated, without adding any further to my qualification...)
But, in true home educating mother style, I saw something on the ground and picked it up to bring home.
Ezekiel wasn't very impressed with me bending over at such a strange angle, but I was determined to bring it home, and do some impromptu, Charlotte-Mason-esque learning with them. All in the name of education, my son.
What do I speak of?
This little guy was just lying there, sadly dead, its work on earth complete. I felt it should continue to be of benefit, beyond its days of pollination. So, home it came.
(I say "it". It's probably female, from our further studies...)
We studied it carefully. I used "Are you a bee?" to learn more about bees. The book is about honey bees, and Daniel then managed to find a dead honey bee in our garden! It's a book perfect for younger readers. (I used it with mine, up to age 9) We did a compare and contrast venn diagram to look at differences between bumble and honey bees. Then, the children drew pictures and wrote down some of the facts we learned. It was fun, and I recommend learning about bees!
To top off our learning experience, I remembered that my sweet friend, Jan, away over in the US of A, keeps bees! She had previously shared a video fo how they caught a swarm, so she sent me the links for us to watch.
This is them installing bees on a rooftop.
And this is the one of them catching a swarm.
Thanks, Jan, for educating us!
But then, I had one of these moments where *I* did some learning.
Not in an "educating the mind" sense, but a whopping "spiritual lesson" moment.
I remembered we had a book called "Bombus the Bumblebee". I decided it would be a good book to read together, as I knew it was a book written by Christians. I, however, had never read it. The children have, but I haven't. Bad Mummy.
So, I curled up and started to read.
It is all about a bumblebee who doubts his purpose, because he's not quite like the other bees - the honeybees.
They tell him he cannot fly because he is big and heavy. He's not built like them, so he couldn't possibly fly like they do.
The ultimate lesson of the story culminates with God giving Bombus this message...
"I told you to fly. No matter what your shape or weight, you can fly because I gave you flight. Now, lift up your wings.... and FLY...... and away he flew - not like a honeybee or a dragonfly or beetle - but like a bumblebee"
The book went on to explain how God has created to the bumblebee to defy the odds, and fly - despite their body "not shaped for flight", and their wings being so short. God gave them the power to fly.
What a message to MY heart!
How easy it is to look and listen to those around us and begin to doubt our ability to live fully for our God and Saviour. If we constantly fall prey to the comparison disease, then we will just sink into depression and misery, and never attempt to live out abundantly for Christ. I may have already told you, I can't remember, but my word for this year - the one I am keeping in my heart and mind to encourage me - is ABUNDANT. Christ came not only to give us life, but so that we could live abundantly! Fully living out our life for Christ. We can only do that if we "fly". We need to accept who we are - even if we aren't quite like the next person, whether it be in our skill set, circumstances, or our looks - and rise high on the wings of faith and live out our life as God intended us to.
Don't look around at everyone else. Just obediently and contentedly be satisfied with your circumstances. Don't crawl along, dragging yourself around in misery, because your situation looks different from someone else's.
Rise.
Rise high and soar.
Soar above disappointment, trials, negativity and comparison.
Rise up to the heights of communion with the Lord, and acceptance of the circumstances HE has placed you in. He has given us all we need to be able to do what we are to do, in service for Him. We aren't called to do what someone else is doing, but simply what we are to do.
Our situation may not even look like we should be able to "fly". Others may look on and think that our trials are too great, or the circumstances are overwhelming. But, if God has given us a job to do, He also gives us the ability to do it. We rise "on eagles wings" because we trust in the Lord, and receive strength from Him. We only rise because God gives us the power to do so.
I wonder if you are feeling like Bombus today? Are others looking at your, in your circumstances, and expecting you not to be able to "fly"?
You CAN soar, because God created you to fly.
