Life Stings...
More often than we want it to.
Even the sound of buzzing nearby, can send people running for safer ground
or keep others inside away from the possibility all together.
As new mothers, we swaddle our child with love and protection. We want no harm to come to them. We try to teach them how to avoid the harsh stings that this life gives. We want our children to bee happy and for their lives to go as smooth as honey. The reality is that no one is sting-proof, not even those, lives, we cherish the most.
And that is why God gives us seasoned mothers to help us in our journey of raising children. They have been there, done that, so to speak.
2 Corinthians 1:4 "who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comforts those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves received from God."
It is a wonderful gift to be a mother, whether your journey is from your womb or through that of another. To have a God-fearing grandmother or seasoned mother around for support and guidance is a special gift.
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28
A mother is like the queen honeybee. She is the center of her hive and she bring unity to it. Wherever she goes, so does her hive. She knows, very well, the process of making honey. She has tasted honey's sweet goodness and knows, very well, the long process of making it. She is aware of the risk in letting her children fly outside the protection of the hive; she also knows they need independence. That is why she does her best to prepare them for it. For she understands the reward they receive when they sip the sweet nectar from a milestone's flower. She knows the satisfaction of achievement in acquiring a stomach full (the mastering of a milestone). Though, she is aware of their need for dependence on others. No bee is self-made. No happy-bee life is made on its own. Bees need other bees. It takes a whole colony to fill a honeycomb full of honey. She models the process of making honey for them. Teaching them that today stings, are tomorrow honey. Her bees know how much she loves them. They understand that if any other creature threatens her hive, she will defend it. And if she had to, she would use her stinger, giving up her life for them.
But a seasoned mother was once just a learning mother like everyone else. She started her journey of motherhood with a whole lot of prayers. She spends endless, sleepless night wondering if she was enough for child. A Christ-centered mom, learned to hold on to Jesus as her child held on to her. She continued to fall short of her own expectations as a mother, but she learned to stand on the mercy of her Father, our Father. He taught her how to bring them up.
A seasoned mother learned that her baby would cry as she struggled to conquer the basic milestones. She cried struggling to roll over, cried when she plopped over while learning to sit up, cried learning to crawl.
"She carefully watches all that goes on in her household and does not have to bear the consequences of laziness." Proverbs 31: 27
A seasoned mother cried along with her. She is there alongside her infant often. She teaches and is teachable. She learned to encourage her baby to roll up with toys and modeling. She learned the value of patience. She learned to put pillows around her infant, to break her fall. She learned to cheer her crawling baby on while placing her favorite toys out of reach.
When she speaks, her words are wise, and kindness is the rule when she gives instructions." Proverbs 31:26
A seasoned mother learned that she had to let go of her son's hand, so he could learn to walk. She learned that he would fall several times before he mastered the task. She taught him that when he fails, she would be there to help him back up. As they grow together, she learns that he needs to fall to learn how to walk right and he learns that she will be there for him no matter how many times he falls to help him back on his feet. For she is his first glimpse at who God is and how deep His love goes.
Proverbs 16:24 "Gracious words are honey-sweet to the soul and healing to the bones."
A seasoned mother knows the power of words. How they can move a person forward or backwards in process. How those words lead a heart into light or into darkness. How her tone models respect or condemnation.
A seasoned mother learned that she needs to forgive her past failures, in order, to teach her children how to do the same. After all, she knows they are watching her. So, a seasoned mother, in Christ, learns how important her relationship is with him. If He can forgive her, she can forgive anyone including herself. Her relationship with Christ is her hive. Her haven; her house. She allows Christ into every honeycomb of her life because He makes the best honey, the only honey that sustains. She feeds off it, so she can help those around grow. She tells them where her honey comes from. She lets them witness the power behind her honeycombs.
"She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come."
Proverbs 31:25
A seasoned mother clothes herself in the honeycomb. She looks beyond that is, to what can be. She is not afraid of the future because God has it. Her children may cry, she cries with them. Her children may be hurt, she will hurt with them. But she learns to laugh despite the stings. Her confident is in her Creator. She knows the enemy will never steal the honey that God has set aside for her and her family. She claims it before it is even seen. She laughs with knowledge of knowing she is blessed before, during and after every mess.
Mommy's honey is like a mother's instincts; yet, it is more of a faith in what will be. The honey is seeing the stings of life as the pain that produce sweetness and good fruit. Mommy's honey is seeing what is, but what it can be. It is learning to stop asking God why and asking instead, "What it is for?'
In doing we can see, like God, not as the child appears to be but whether who he can become. In living with honey sunglasses, we give God the opportunity to change our struggles into the honey. The great thing about nectar in God's hands, is that it is like the parable of bread and fish. It is more than enough for us to feed from. In fact, there is always enough left over to feed others. In His hands, our stings become honey not only for the whole hive, but for the whole community and perhaps more than that. Even with the harsh sting of death, God can it to makes honey to heal. Its sweetness is limitless in God's hands.
So, mothers everywhere, in every season, let's let our child's flower bloom with God's help. No matter how many times life sting them. Let's not fall into the shame of failing them. Let's allow our flowers to grow. Let's hold onto the hope of future honey. Let's put on those honey sunglasses and show the world that it does not matter if our faith is blind. We have heard the Word of God that tell us that He will make the unseen honey, seen in His time. That is why, no matter what comes at me, I can keep chugging down the track of motherhood and life I have mommy's honey.
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