The Preaching of Bees
The father of modern beekeeping was a Christian minister. He was a devoted listener to the preaching of bees.
As a young man, Rev. L. L. Langstroth was intensely interested in insects. He wore out the knees of his trousers studying ants. As an adult, during his first post as pastor, he became afflicted with debilitating depression. One day he saw a honey comb in glass at the home of an acquaintance, and was transfixed. From then on he became an avid student of bees.
Langstroth is the father of modern beekeeping. His hive invention is so efficient it is used by professional and backyard beekeepers alike.
In one of his books he describes the three basic bees. The queen, the workers, and the drones. This is basic bee knowledge 101 to most 4th graders, but back then it was new even to professional beekeepers. Few bothered to look in their hives to see what was going on.
After learning how to access his hives with movements "gentle and slow," Langstroth peered intently into them and simply paid attention. Here is his description of what happens when the queen disappears:
"the whole colony is thrown into a state of the most intense agitation...; all the labors of the hive are abandoned; the bees run wildly over the combs, and frequently rush from the hive in anxious search of their beloved mother. If they cannot find her, they return to their desolate home, and by their sorrowful tones reveal their deep sense of so deplorable a calamity. Their note at such times ... is of a peculiarly mournful character; it sounds somewhat like a succession of wailings on the minor key, and can no more be mistaken by an experienced bee-keeper, for their ordinary happy hum, than the piteous moanings of a sick child could be confounded by the anxious mother with its joyous crowings when overflowing with health and happiness. "
Anticipating someone's objection to his somewhat romantic description, he adds, "I have determined ... to give facts, however wonderful, just as they are; ... hoping that the many wonders in the economy of the honey-bee will not only excite a wider interest in its culture, but lead those who observe them to adore the wisdom of Him who gave them such admirable instincts."
Amateur literally means "lover." For all his contributions to apiary science, Langstroth remained a true amateur, a lover of bees. He paid them attention, and in his attention his love grew. He learned to care, and in caring, beheld in these insects the wisdom of God.
We all want to hear a good word for our souls. All our hearts are parched, longing for the water that makes us never thirst again. If we hear nothing, perhaps it's not because this is a time like when Samuel was young, and "the word of the Lord was rare." Perhaps there is preaching all around, in voices, in buzzing, in "the heavens," and what's required is movement, gentle and slow, and sustained, loving attention.
Pastor Eddy
