The flight of the bumble bee

Several years ago I was sitting in the front room of my apartment reading a book. I had been teaching school and loved my job but, I have to admit, was ready to find the love of my life and get married. I mentioned this frequently to my very patient Heavenly Father in my prayer each morning, night and several times during the day.

As I sat there enjoying my book, I heard a buzzing sound. I soon realized that a little bee had sneaked past the front door and was now trapped between the window and the blinds right above me. I opened the door and twisted the blinds to give this little critter a chance to escape.

Nothing happened.

He continued to fly around in his confined space in a frenzy, repeatedly hitting his nose against the glass trying to get out. He was becoming more and more frustrated.

Having compassion on the little guy I opened the blinds completely and, being home alone, began talking him through what was going on.

“Come on buddy, I know you want to go outside, but you can’t get there that way.”

I took my book and gave him a gentle swoosh towards the door. He spun around for a little bit and then headed back to the window, once again beating his nose into the glass.

“If you would just turn around you would see that there is a way out.”

This time I grabbed a pillow from the couch and gave him a mighty thud towards the door. I stepped back and hoped for the best.

He flew around dazed for a bit, turned towards the door and happily flew away.

I sat back down to resume my reading when a thought came to my mind as if it had been spoken out loud...

“Erin, stop beating your nose against the glass.”

I suddenly froze. In my life I was acting like that little bee and I had just learned a very important lesson. I needed to follow the path Heavenly Father had for me and make me into the person He wanted me to become. I needed to stop beating my nose against the glass.

We all have desires, righteous desires that we hope and pray will come to fruition. But, it’s when we can align our will with HIS that we can find the path that is truly ours. Some of the time we need a gentle prod while other times we get quite a jolt. Both can be painful at first but, if we allow it, can lead us to a better way. He does this because He loves us.

"The Lord gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding and compassion which polish you for everlasting benefit. To get you from where you are to where He wants you to be requires a lot of stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain." Richard G. Scott

Now and then I find myself beating my nose against the glass and with a smile I think of that little bee and the lesson he taught me that day.

I hope I never forget it.