While I was rather proud of my ingenuity, Sara was mortified. And that made for an interesting sauce.

One spring semester, Sara took Parasitology, which is the study of parasites. She had to collect insects on a list and pen them to a board with their scientific names written underneath. For a few weekends when she came home from college, we spent many hours chasing insects around the yard with nets.

We were close to the point of desperation. Sara had only two weeks left on her project and we couldn’t find a bumblebee. Plus, I was tired of running around the yard and swinging the net. I saw some of the looks the neighbors were giving us.

One fateful Saturday afternoon, I was on insect patrol when I spotted a bumblebee sitting on a white bloom on a bush. It was perfectly plump with beautiful stripes.

Growing up, I was a tomboy who loved to dig up bugs and worms, so I was totally clueless about how to swing the net in order to catch a stinging insect. I thought about yelling at Sara to see if she knew how to do it, but I was afraid the bumblebee might fly away before she could reach me.

I held my breath and reared the net back and forcefully brought it in a downward motion over the bumblebee. I took it all the way to the ground.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Repeatedly, the bumblebee slammed into the tip of the net. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere near there if it got out.

“I caught a bumblebee! I caught a bumblebee!” I sang out to Sara as I did my happy dance.

She ran up and stood next to me. For a few minutes she didn’t say anything. Not even a “Good job Mom” or “Way to go Mom.” Instead she said, “Mom, how are we going to get the bumblebee into the vial?” The professor had given them vials to put the insects in and then place them in the freezer.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! The bumblebee was still slamming into the tip of the net.

“I have no idea.” I scratched my head. “But there’s no way I’m letting it go now.”

Sara graciously offered a solution. “I’ll hold the vial Mom while you put the bumble bee in it.”

In my mind, I envisioned myself being stung multiple times. Needless to say, I wasn’t thrilled with her suggestion. “I already have my degree. I’ll hold the vial while you put the bumblebee in it.” No, I really wasn’t going to have her do that. I just wanted her to know how it felt to be asked to tangle with an irate bumblebee.

“So, what do we do then?” She crossed her arms.

“Well, we just can’t stand here looking at it. I’m going to the basement to see if I can find anything to help or give me an idea.” With that, I left Sara standing next to the angry buzzing bee in the net.

As I walked, I prayed over and over, “Lord, please let me see something I can use.” The moment I opened the basement door, I knew my prayer had been answered. It was as if Jesus was pointing at it. Hanging in the laundry room on the end of a clothes rack was one of Sara’s old bras. I kept forgetting to throw it away. At one time it had been lacy and pretty. Now it was tattered and stringy. It seemed sad just to be hanging there.

“I’ll put you to good use.” I yanked the bra off and ran back to Sara while waving it in the air over my head. “I found something we can use!”

Her cheeks turned bright pink and her mouth dropped open. “That’s my bra Mom!”

“I know what it is. I’ve been wearing one seventeen years before you were born.”

“Are you nuts? You can’t use my bra Mom!”

“Listen, Jesus kept me from throwing it away. He knew we were going to need it one day to get the bumblebee into the vial.”

“Just how do you plan to do that with my bra?” she huffed.

“I’m gonna use it as a tourniquet.” I wrapped her stringy bra around the net and under the mad bumblebee. Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Next, I tightened the bra while inching it and the bumblebee up. Once I had the bumblebee cornered into the tip of the net, I securely tied the bra into a couple of knots. The bee was buzzing louder. BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ!

I stood up and dusted my hands. “How’s that for ingenuity.” What I really wanted to say was, “I came. I saw. I conquered with a bra tourniquet.”

“Mom! I can’t believe you used my bra like that!”

“Would you prefer that I let the bumblebee go?” I asked.

“No! But how do you plan on getting the bumblebee into the vial now?”

“We’re not putting it into the vial yet. We’re putting the whole net in the freezer. Pray it fits.” And that’s what I did. I laid the net with the buzzing bumblebee inside the freezer in the garage and closed the lid.

It worked. Sara pinned the bumblebee onto the board. That Sunday evening, she took it and her old bra back to college with her.

On Tuesday, I called her after her Parasitology class. “So, what did your professor think of your bumblebee?” It was the perfect specimen after all. And I dare say she didn’t tell him how we caught it.

“Mom, it’s not a bumblebee.”

“What? I know a bumblebee when I see one.” Excuse me. How long had I lived on this planet?

Again, she said, “Mom, it’s not a bumblebee.”

“If it’s not a bumblebee, then tell me what it is,” I challenged.

“The professor said it was a carpenter bee. They have a different shaped head than the bumblebee.”

“Do you still get credit for it?” I asked.

“Yeah, but I still have to catch a bumblebee.”

Catching bumblebees and not getting stung is one of the many challenges and problems that may happen in life. Instead of giving into them, pray and improvise. Dare to think outside of the box. God will give you an answer. It may not be as eloquent as my bra tourniquet, but you’ll get one.

Not only did Sara receive credit for the carpenter bee, but she caught a bumblebee at school. I didn’t ask her how she did it, but in my mind, I imagined her running across the campus with the net in one hand and her old bra in the other. If I had been there, I would have been cheering, “You go girl!”

“Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.” Psalm 50:15 (NKJV)