The psalmist said to God, “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” Psalm 119:103

The honeybee is known for ceaseless labor. Its hive is a hotbed of activity.   No wonder.   A single worker bee makes 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey in their lifetime, and a good hive will produce 50 to 60 pounds of honey to survive the winter.  The work never ends!

Still, it’s a little known fact that even the hard-working honeybee will find a spot on the comb, cease all activity — and do absolutely nothing for a while! Nothing productive as far as the world is concerned.  But this time of refreshment and renewal is absolutely essential.  Bees seem to require a little time away from the busyness of life, and it doesn’t seem to hurt the hive at all.

Many of us discover that our levels of stress and anxiety rise because of the never-ending tasks that fill our days. We worry about whether we can keep up.  During these moments I find it best to follow the example of the honeybee and just stop.  After all, Jesus did the same thing. When he was very busy, he went up the mountain to pray — to create a time and space for God to refresh his spirit.  If Jesus needed such time, surely we do too.

Lord, we open our hearts to you.   We stop to listen and learn from you.   Amen.