BEE ENCOUNTERS

BEE ENCOUNTERS

Have you ever been stung by a bee? If the answer is no, you don't know what you've missed! In this article, I will share some of my experiences while growing up in West Virginia with bees, hornets, wasps, and yellow jackets. God must have transplanted a video in my brain, because I still have a vivid picture of these events. I guess these images should be labeled unforgettables.

My first encounter with hornets took place when I was a small boy five years old. I lived in a coal mining camp in McComas, West Virginia. The most popular entertainment the boys had back then was playing ACowboys and Indians. Houston Kennett, my neighbor, and I were up on the hill from his house one day playing with some other kids. We hid behind a stump with our cap pistols ready! As the enemy approached, we placed our arms across the stump and began firing. We soon discovered that we were encroaching on private property, and the occupants were very angry and unforgiving. I learned very quickly that it is a mistake to intrude on the privacy of a hornets nest! My arms suddenly felt like something had set them on fire. Hornets seemed to come from everywhere! Both of us began to scream, and we headed down the side of the hill as fast as our legs would carry us. Mrs Kennett rushed to see what was happening as we jumped over the rail fence, still screaming like we were dying. After Houston's mother learned the problem, she went into the house and brought back a box of baking soda. She doctored the stings, and the burning slowly subsided. It would be several years before I felt that sting again, and that would be to soon.

When I was around twelve years old, I was with my uncle Bryant, walking along the bank of Bluestone River, looking for a good spot to fish. As I bent over to pass through some willow bushes, before I knew what had happened, my head felt like someone had set fire to it. Yes, I had disturbed a nest of yellow jackets, and they were making me pay for that intrusion! But my uncle Bryant removed his hat and beat them off. There is no way that words can describe the contempt I had for bees after that. I vowed then and there that I wouldn't have anything to do with them anymore. I'm warning you! Don't ever bend over and start through bushes without looking first! You might get a surprise you just can't forget, as I did. It seemed that the yellow jackets were out to get me every chance they got. Their sudden attacks were horrible to say the least.

The next surprise meeting that I remember having with one of these little stinging insects was actually with a wasp. It happened while I was playing touch football with some friends. Enjoying the game, I ran across the grass hollering for the ball. All at once, something flew into my mouth, and it felt like it set off a stick of dynamite. A real live Kamikaze insect! Anyway, that wasp never surprised anyone else. It felt the sting of death as my teeth crushed down like the jaws of a great white shark. The damage had been done though! The Bee was out of it's misery, but mine was just beginning. My upper lip swelled up and stuck out about two inches. I looked like Andy Gump the cartoon character.

My last serious run-in with bees happened on a farm owned by a man named Harold White, I was a young boy of fifteen, helping his son slaughter cattle for his meat delivery business. Looking back, I can't believe the cruel way we treated those animals. It just seemed like a job to me then, but now I deeply appreciate the sacrifice that cows make so someone can enjoy a T-bone for dinner. Anyway, one day Harold's son, Junior, and I were working at the slaughter house when a steer refused to be led to the slaughter. This happened occasionally because the steers could smell the odor of the blood. My job was to attach a rope to a tractor axle and pull the steer to the slaughter house where we would tie its head down, hit it between the eyes with a five pound hammer, and skin it. That was an awful way to die, and the steer wasn=t about to die without a fight. One day, one of them started chasing me and I ran into a hornets nest. To add to my misery, I wasn't wearing a shirt. The hornets covered me from my head to my waist and began knocking knots on my head, chest, and back faster than I could rub.. I ran towards Junior, begging him to beat them off. But, instead of trying to help me, he ran from me, and I chased him all over the field. I discovered that Junior liked me as a helper but not enough to risk his own hide. What misery!

My Uncle Bryant rescued me by beating off the yellow jackets. I will never forget his merciful intervention. He rescued me because he loved me unconditionally. He was willing to put himself in harms way to set me free. His unconditional love reminds me so much of my Savior, Jesus Christ. Each time I hear the gospel song I'm just a sinner saved by grace, I'm reminded that as I stood condemned to die, He took my place . Unlike the steer that fought for her own life, Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, went meekly to an old rugged cross and sacrificed His life to save a wretch like me. Unlike Junior who ran to save his own hide, Jesus mercifully intervened in my hopeless condition and set me free. Jesus rescued me because He loved me unconditionally. Praise His holy name!

As I reflect back on these memories I'm reminded of the intense love that God has for mankind (John 3:16). I also see a young, handsome, strong, athletic, country boy who would need God's mercy later as he corrupted his life with sin for approximately ten years. I was able to avoid bees, but I developed a reckless lifestyle that led me into a lot more problems than a bee hive. I'm still very much ashamed of some of the sins I committed, but I'm so thankful that every sin I committed is under the Blood of Christ. Thank God for His unconditional love. Praise Him for His tender mercy!

If you are reading this article and are enslaved by any kind of sin, remember Christ died to save you too. He stands ready to forgive and set you free. It doesn't matter how vile you may be, or have been. Trust Him now. He will freely and willingly have mercy upon you!

- Frank Repass