Bee-ware!

God bless the bees!

Praise God from earth..

Mountains and all hills,

    apple orchards and cedar forests;

Wild beasts and herds of cattle,

    snakes, and birds in flight;-----The Message

      We are preparing for our Blessing of the Animals service, and I came upon this sunflower covered with bees...God bless the bees!  However this picture reminded me a bit of what our relationship with blessings can be...Watch out what you ask/pray for---the blessings we receive can often surprise us in unexpected ways. 

On approach, this sunflower attracted my attention because of its joyful color and because it actually grew when I thought I planted it too late.  Well, it was too late to make a sunflower house for our grandson, but not too late for the bees.  My intention to get closer and even pick the flower was quickly thwarted by the threat of a sting.

     Isn't that often the way "the best laid plans go"?  We have one intent or desire and God has another, or we pray for one thing to happen and well....the answer isn't always one we are prepared for.

     Think of this quote from Evan Almighty: "Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?"  (imbd.com)

When I think of church and the things we pray for we are often surprised by the results:

-Pray for more children and when they show up....we don't know what to do with them.

-Pray for more people to come in the building and we don't know how we will pay for the oil to keep them warm.

-Pray for new members and now our committees look different.

In our own lives we may have found ourselves at one time or another receiving an answer to prayer only to be left with a “now what?” feeling.

When I pray for peace, for the hungry to be full, for the homeless to be warm, I may be naïve as to how much that prayer may cost me in my own life?

Tracy Chapman sings "Be and be not afraid to reach for heaven." 

Blessings abound all around us, I sit on my porch listening to the birds sing, the sun is warm on my back and yet the recycling bag has dumped and I also hear bottles and cans rolling around, the three dogs are barking at "ABSOLUTELY NOTHING" and I think some hornets are attempting to build a winter nest in the eaves...and that warm sun caused my ipad to overheat.

God bless us in our praying and in our receiving of the answers unexpected and surprising as they may be.