Bee Sting

I’ve been trying to get in at least a 30 minute power walk every day.

Reality? It is more like every other day. Or 2 times a week. But it’s progress.

Teaching used to be my exercise. Chasing 10 1 1/2 year olds around all day is quite an aerobic work out. Or corralling 20 kindergarteners, while trying to teach them stuff. (Moms, you know what I’m talking about! Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you aren’t working or that isn’t exercise. Just show them your FitBit/Apple Watch data. It might shock some of them.)

And weight training? Picking toddlers up and down to change their diapers 2 to 3 times a day. (Yes, that’s right. 2 reps x 10 kids = 20, or 30 if I did 3 reps. Which is what most any weight lifting program will tell you to do in order to see any effects!)

But now I actually have to plan exercise. Because I have always been a teacher. Or walked to work when I lived in a foreign country. Or coached volleyball.

I need to learn to have grace with myself because this is a new habit that I am learning. I would have grace for anybody else who told me the same story. And I am worthy of that exact same grace.

So what does this have to do with that blob of white stuff on your foot? And a bee sting?

Well……

I’ve been walking in the mornings around one of the neighborhoods near my house. It is beautiful. Trees and plants on all sides. Calm and peaceful. Shaded with some random splotches of sunlight so you don’t melt in the heat and humidity. I love it!

This morning however, there were tons of bees. Like every 10 feet I saw another one. One was eating a dead worm?!? (Didn’t know bees did that…..) Others were just flying around very low to the sidewalk. And they zoomed off as soon as I got remotely close.

And then, about 2 minutes into my walk, I felt a sharp pain on the top of my foot. Right under the tongue of my shoe. (I thought maybe I had accidentally kicked something sharp like a stick or something. Because yes, I am that clumsy and do those kinds of things all the time!)

The pain started to become more intense, so I stopped and lifted up the tongue of my shoe. (Shoes that are almost brand new and therefore are not broken in and still very tight on my feet. Which means that the tongue of the shoe was basically on top of my foot, there was not much space.)

And there he was. A bee. Stuck in my sock. Trying to escape. (I potentially scared the poop out of him because there was something else on my sock that definitely had not been there before…… kind of serves him right for stinging me!)

Lucky for him, the pain was keeping me from thinking clearly right then, so he was able to escape. Because I would have smashed him into oblivion if given ample time. (I don’t mind insects as long as they keep their distance and don’t come into my space. If you come into my space, then you die.)

I checked to make sure the stinger was not still in me. When I saw that the area was bleeding very slightly, I knew that the stinger was not in it. It still stung quite a bit though. And I contemplated turning around, going back to my car, and going home.

But in that moment of pause. I had a thought.

That thought?

No Satan. Not again. You will not win. You will not use something small and yet painful, as an excuse for me not to take care of myself. I will go on this walk. And I will enjoy God’s beautiful creation around me.

Satan of course didn’t like that, so he tried to use my anxiety against me. My fear. My fear of having an allergic reaction. My fear that my throat and tongue might start swelling up. And who would know? Who would be able to help me? Would anyone stop and help me? (The path I was on was well frequented and I passed someone every few minutes, so I was going to be completely fine if something started to go wrong.)

But I kept walking.

I acknowledged the pain. And kept walking.

I accepted that my foot might swell a little. And I kept walking.

I realized, probably more like God reminded me, that walking would help dissipate the venom faster. So I kept walking.

I focused on the beauty of nature. And kept walking.

After awhile, I couldn’t feel the pain. I was able to finish my walk without any problems or reactions or anything.

Although it was painful, it was a great reminder that Satan, the enemy of Christ, tries to use anything and everything to derail us.

So we must always be on guard. We must always be watching and waiting.

That’s why we need to pray. And study the Word. And constantly be taking everything to God. Because we can’t ever handle what Satan throws at us by ourselves. We need God every single time. No matter how small we think it is. We need God. He is the only surefire weapon against the Enemy.

Don’t wait until it is too late and you are in too deep. Use the small things, like a bee sting, to turn you back to God. To show you your constant need for Him and His grace. It might “sting” right now, but your joy will come in the morning. That’s His promise.