Be Who God Created You to Bee

I am guessing, if you are anything like me, that if someone gave you a piece of paper and told you to write all the things you like about yourself on one side and then all the things you did not like about yourself on the other side, you would have one full side and one side with lots of room left over.

We are all very capable of listing the things we would like to improve about ourselves or the things we know others would like us to improve. We know exactly how much weight we would like to loose, how we would like to change our hair style, how we would like to be a better parent, sibling, child. We know we need to "fix" the way we spend money, how often we eat out, how long we wait to start organizing our taxes each year.

We have good intentions of being closer with our friends, of spending more time with our family, of deepening our relationship with God. But somehow we always end up sabotaging our own efforts. Somewhere along the way we decide that there is just too much to improve upon and it will take too much work so we give up and accept the fact that we will only be a small glimmer of who we really could be.

What if we changed our mind-set? What if we looked at life as a process and not a product? What if we accepted Who We Are, shortcomings and all, and realized that we are exactly as God made us to be! God, the infinite designer that created more species of vegetation, insects, and animals than we humans have even been able to discover yet. The God who decided that bees, you know the buzz-buzz, honey making guys, would have the ability to cross pollinate plants AND sting predators in order to protect themselves.

I have seen some beautiful flowers that would not be possible with out those busy little bees. I also know many people that carry epi-pens in case they get stung by a bee. Talk about a good side / bad side to your life. In all that the bee does, he is just living out who God created him to be. He is not on a quest of self-discovery or hanging out in the hive reading the newest "How to Be the Best Bee You Can Be" book. He understands who and what God made him to be and he lives out his life building relationships between plants and making delicious ooey-gooey sweetness to share with others.

Hmm...building relationships and sharing with others, sounds a lot like what God calls US to do everyday as well. God knows that we are not "perfect," that we each have a pollination (potentially helpful) and a stinger (potentially harmful) side to our natures. He created us. He knows us. He accepts us. He loves us. He patiently waits for us to "get it" and step out of His way. God is willing to let us run the show AND He is willing to walk back into our lives and comfort us as He fixes what we have allowed to become broken in our own hearts.

So how can we, higher level thinking humans, learn a lesson from the bees and begin to accept who we are, who God made us to be, and start to love ourselves as much as God loves us? What baggage do we need to throw off, what mind-sets need to change, what do we need to ask for forgiveness for and then move past? What new habits do we need to adopt, what new group do we need to being hanging around with, what new words do we need to fill our heart and our mind with?

OR, How can we be quiet, alone with God, and let Him heal us. No to-do list on our part other than making time to Be With God. He knows what we need. He will direct our path. He will heal the scars that run so deep we forget where they started. And all we have to do is begin to fly out from the hive, each day a little bit further, feeling secure in who God created us to be. We can build relationships and share a part of our selves each day, but we must always return to the hive each night in order to relax our weary bodies, build community within the hive, and spend time with The One that designed the entire thing.

My prayer for you today is that you can throw away your "what I like about me / what I don't like about me" list. I pray that you can begin to feel comfortable in who God created you to bee. I pray that you will build relationships and share yourself with others today. I pray that as you return home tonight you will feel tired, after a good days work, and will be able to relax with The One that created you, The One who loves you, The One that knows you and is growing you, From the Inside Out.

Until We Meet Again,

Drea