Being normal has never been my cup of tea. For instance, when I was a kid, I used to think about experiences that most people avoided. I wondered what it was like to be put to under for surgery, being close to a tornado, or being stung by a bee. At this point in my life, I have experienced all of them, but the bee sting was the first one and it was a bizarre thing.
Playing outside like I did, I was usually around bees, but somehow, I didn’t get stung. Well, except for sweat bees. I was well aware of how much those little guys hurt. But according to my friends, the other bee stings hurt worse. I finally found that out when I was nine years-old. It happened when I was riding in the station wagon with Mamaw Jo. I had climbed into the back seat and rolled a window down. She was fussing at me to roll it back up since she had on the air conditioner. Did I listen? Nope. I kept it down. Within a few minutes, a yellow jacket blew in through the opening, crashed onto my shin, and stung me. What were the chances of that happening? My next thought was how my friends were right about it being so painful. Let me tell you, this little tomboy did some serious whining. As for Mamaw Jo, she scolded me: “If you had rolled that window up like I told you to do, that wouldn’t have happened.” Yep. She was right.
After that day, I watched out for bees. No, I didn’t run from them unless they tried to get in my face. But if I had been more cautious, then maybe Tim wouldn’t have had to suffer. A couple of years ago, we were at a friend’s house. He was looking for something in the bed of our friend’s truck. As I stood by, I watched him move around a large piece of plastic. Then I saw the bees flying all around his head. He didn’t say anything. Instead, he continued digging through the stuff in the truck bed. I was surprised that he was ignoring the bees. I was about to ask him about it when one stung him in his forehead. That’s when he finally noticed all of the bees. I asked him: “You didn’t see them swarming around your head?” He looked at me and said: “No. Why didn’t you tell me?” I knew his getting stung was my fault and I felt so bad about it. I still do.
“When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at thine hand.” Ezekiel 3:18 (KJV)
Why was Tim getting stung my fault? Because I didn’t warn him about the bees. I assumed he had seen them when he hadn’t. If I had warned him, he would have moved away from the truck before that could have happened. The same concept applies to those who are Believers. If we see or know of somebody who is going down a path away from the Lord and we don’t try to warn them, then what happens to them is our responsibility. It’s better to be rejected than not to try at all.
My last bee encounter was a rather dangerous one. We used to have a storm door in front of the metal laundry door that lead to the backyard. In the summer, I would go out of it so I could hang clothes out to dry. One day I opened the laundry door to find wasps building a nest on the spring of the storm door. That was too close to the house, so I had to get rid of it before somebody got stung. I grabbed a broom and cracked the metal door open just wide enough to get the bristle part of the broom through it. I quickly swiped the nest off of the spring and slammed the door shut. Thankfully, no bees got inside. I looked out of the window and saw the angry bees swarming around the door. Needless to say, I didn’t hang any laundry outside that day.
Brooke Cox is an author, speaker, and storyteller. She was a 2016 Selah Awards Finalist for Debut Novel. Her children’s book: “Dinosaur Eggs,” is now available. It is based on Ephesians 6: The Armor of God. Her novel “Until the Moon Rises: A Conniving Cousin Mystery” is also available. Also, she has two books out in her storytelling series: “Saucy Southern Stories.” The Amazon links for her books may be found on her website: brookecoxstories.com. Please feel free to contact her. She would love to hear from you.