BEE SWEET LIKE HONEY …

by Jennifer DePriest

I took some time this afternoon to explore and reflect on what is happening in the world around us. I started going through old pictures and came across this beautiful wild iris. I took this photo last year, which brought us so much rain, we didn’t see sunshine for days.

This year we saw snow instead of rain. Though we grew tired of it, I know that in a few short weeks these beautiful native flowers will bloom all along my little creek. A reminder that what we all looked at as an inconvenience and a nuisance last month ago will end up once again watering the soil to create these beautiful flowers. Nature’s perfect way of coloring the landscape, and a symbol of hope.

We don’t know what the future holds, but we have to believe that beautiful things will bloom in due time.

Even the thistle, though it has thorns, still brings a rustic beauty to the landscape. For me, it was nature’s way of underscoring the fact that even when life brings thorns into our lives, if we give it time, life can bloom in the middle of it all. What can you see blooming in your own life at this time?

The highlight of my afternoon as I walked down memory lane was finding another photo from last spring’s excursion. It was a photo of a bee in the blackberry blossoms. I love bees because they remind me of my own life. Like the bee, that should not be able to fly, I have survived trials and tribulations that I should not have. Not a day goes by that I do not acknowledge how very blessed that I am.

I think it is important for us to remember in this time of uncertainty that some things in life may have thorns or may sting, but in the middle of it all, we can find beauty. We can bloom. Yes, a lot of things may rain down upon us before we bloom, but all storms pass. Life always comes back to the surface. Beauty can always be found from ashes.