“Let all bitterness, wrath ,anger , clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”  Ephesians 4:31-32 ESV

One morning, a bee, the approximate size of Goliath, chased me into my car. Arms waving, I narrowly escaped with my life while the bee, on the other side of the glass, continued to try and reach me. With zeal, all of its little limbs worked frantically, against the glass, in apparent protest. In fascination, I watched this creature not give up. It did not move on, it did not fly away.  With all of its will it remained focused on me.  Eventually, I backed my car out of the driveway, waiting for the bee to let go. It held on as I reached the entrance to my neighborhood. As my car reached 45 mph on the main road it held on. Through traffic lights and speeds up to 55 mph…the bee did.not.let.go.   Literally, the bee arrived at my destination, clear on the other side of town, still waving all of its limbs at me.

I sat and talked to God, “What are you trying to show me?”  He speaks to me in the most profound way through the simplest of objects.  This day, He chose to use a bee to speak to me of letting go.

We have all been hurt by those we chose to trust and love, disappointed by circumstances and choices, hurt, offended, bruised, and crushed by those around us. We all wear scars.  We can choose to hold on to these offenses, storing them in a treasure chest that we open often, taking these offenses and relishing in the memory of the wrongs committed. We polish the memories by playing it over, and over, and over again. We choose to live in yesterday with the offense, rather than embracing a new location, a new day, a new destination.  This little bee had remained focused on hurting me, while I went on my merry way.  I was reaching new destinations and new adventures, while the bee held on to yesterday and became a spectator on my sidelines. We can get so lost in our offense that we miss the wonders and the opportunities of each new day.  In a new place, this bee only had eyes for me.  What succulent flowers waited for it across town? What would the breezes reveal to its wandering heart if it were able to listen? My bee only saw me and missed every adventure that beckoned across the wind.

Ephesians tells us to put all bitterness behind us. We are to clothe ourselves in kindness and love. We are told to forgive.  You may be wondering how I ever got out of my car. I began to open the window. I shifted the foundation of what the bee was standing on and it let go.  We all may need to shift our foundation from offense to letting go.

How can we do that? What if we were to pray for those that hurt us? Praying for others softens our hearts and shifts the foundation we are standing on to Holy Ground.

Jesus, Today I lay ____________ in Your hands. I pray every good thing over them, that every dream might find physical manifestation.  I pray health, wellness and joy over them. In Jesus’ Name, Amen

For more encouragement, visit Lisa at praiseheart.net