Bees

One thing is for sure. Each year I learn something more about gardening. I wondered why with all the blossoms this year, I had only a tiny percentage of the fruit in my garden from the year before. My plum tree actually had far more flowers this year, yet only a fraction of the fruit yield. I was perplexed.

A farmer friend solved my puzzle. It wasn't the plant food, or the water, or the sun or the pruning. She asked me how many bees were in my garden this spring. Indeed, a very good question. Not that many. Well, not compared to last year when my neighbour had a wild bee hive growing in the garage on the back of their property.

I had been a bit fazed by the bees. They were swarming in my garden, dive bombing me as I put out the washing. As I am allergic to bees, this became a nuisance and a nightmare. I did feel sorry for them when they were exterminated.

I thought about the person who had discovered a bee hive under their BBQ. They had posted pictures from every angle of the huge honeycomb that hung from the BBQ and dripped honey all over their patio. I wondered if the old couch that had housed the bee hive next door had a honeycomb interior. I never did learn whether it did or not.

Now I know that last year these bees were busy as bees are. Last year they were visiting nectarines, plums and grapes. Last year they helped produce a bumper crop. Well, I can't have it both ways; less bees and less fruit. I do wish wasps had a more productive part in the garden because nothing seems to diminish their presence.

It just goes to show, that often when we are being buzzed by bees, it may be because they are busy working and we are in the way. We only see what we see and experience and often are ungrateful for things simply because they seem to be pests to us. Yet, God has his servants, and his purposes buzzing away, leading us to fruitful seasons up ahead, and we often don't realise that it was those annoying little things that were actually doing us the most good.

You might ask 'like what'? Well for example, ending up with a minor injury in hospital for a day or two. It is painful and inconvenient, but then a person next to you in the bed in the same ward, needs to know something of the love of God and there you are right in the right place after all. Or, smaller still, getting delayed by some annoying telemarketer and heading off into the traffic a few minutes later than you planned. A car accident just up ahead makes you realise, just a few minutes earlier, if you had left on time, that would have been you being cut out of that car. Or some annoying person taking too long to serve you, might just be saving you from being knocked over by a speeding cyclist, who now hits nothing and goes on in the grace of God, on his merry way.

Thanks be to God for bees.

Cherries

Last year, the birds got my three cherries. I had wrapped the tree in bird netting and then noticed one of the cherries as it just came half ripe had disappeared! So I put a double wrap around the tree, but this just gave the birds a stronger toe hold to steal from. I didn't get to try any. Well, I will confess, I did find one cherry half pecked and a bit sizzled by the sun and was so annoyed, I pecked the other side and then dropped it in horror that I had been so desperate for a sample of my first cherries that I could have done such a thing.

First fruits. Well, they went to God's creatures. An offering to God. I often think as I see the little containers that are dappled about on the pavement in places like Bali, about how many of God's creation get to enjoy the offerings laid out for the deities. Sweet cut fruit and scented flowers, within the grasp of a hungry monkey must be such a gift. If I think about my cherries being processed by a thrush or a blackbird on behalf of God, then it isn't quite so bad.

There's nothing like delayed gratification to work character into a person. I never learned that as a young person. But now, I can thank God that I have a chance when I have to wait another year for another hope of tasting a cherry.

But a year has gone by. This time, I learned from my past failure. My cherry tree was bursting with blossoms. So, I bought two huge frames. They were meant to be garden arches. They had to be fitted together and that was no easy task. Then I threw two huge nets over them and pegged them all around the tree. This meant I had purchased, two nets, two arches and several packets of metal pegs. Cost? Maybe $50, if I add it all up.

The flowers dropped their petals and small fruit hung from little clusters on the boughs. But within a few weeks, it became apparent that there were just two cherries. Yes, just two. My huge frame and netting plan was for two cherries. Two cherries, might cost about 10 cents I suppose. But they were my cherries on my tree!

I finally tasted my cherries. I was a little premature, but also nervous that one more day to ripen them just a little more might mean one more day for a wiley bird to figure how to steal them. Life is a cherry they say. And I love cherries and I love a lot of things about life too. And sometimes, life like these cherries, after all the anticipation and best laid plans, just tasted, ok. Not wonderful, not delectible, not bursting with sweet juice and flavour, just ok.

But, it was all still worth it. I cheated the birds and this time, it was my turn to eat the fruit of my labour. Maybe God feels like this, when he waits patiently, tends our souls, guards us, feeds us, gives us living water and then some temptation comes along and steals our hearts. Then he waits again for the right time, and we ripen for his harvest again.

Sometimes, we offer ourselves and it is good, but it is just ok. Sometimes, we offer ourselves and what we give is the best of everything within us. I want to offer the best to him. If my life is a cherry to him, then I want my life to be like those big sweet fruitful ones that I still remember from two years ago from the country stand.