Lesson from the Bees

There’s something awesome about watching tiny creatures work together to create something beautiful. This spring, my son and I started a new adventure; beekeeping. Although I had kept bees hives a few years ago, this was an entirely new experience for him and his family. We bought two hives, and two weeks ago they were delivered, and we placed them in their new home. There was excitement, but also a lot of nerves. Would the bees settle in? Would they grow strong? 

Today, we opened it up to check on them, and what we saw was exciting. My son, his three-year-old son Ben, our grandson Brooks, and my husband (Paps) were all with us, sharing in the moment.

In just fourteen days, the bees have already formed comb in each of the hives. Quietly, steadily, without any fanfare, they had gotten to work building something beautiful. Not for praise. Not for attention. Just because it was what they were made to do.

As we watched those tiny creatures move in perfect harmony, I couldn’t help but feel that God was whispering something to me. It was as if He was saying, “Faithfulness doesn’t always look spectacular, but it always bears fruit.”

It struck me how calm the bees were. They weren’t aggressive. They didn’t buzz angrily or seem threatened by our presence. They were steady and focused, going about their work with a quiet confidence. There was a lesson in that stillness. These bees were doing what they were made to do.  They didn’t need to hurry and they don’t need to see the end result yet. They simply have faith that with each little action, their hive will grow stronger and they will have a strong hive to call home.

It made me think about how often we want fast results in life. We want to see the harvest before we’ve even planted the seeds. But the bees reminded me that good things take time. That growth happens in the quiet, behind the scenes. That building something meaningful, whether it’s a relationship, a family, a calling, ministry, or even our faith takes patience, consistency, and trust.

My son and I are hoping that next year we’ll get our first honey, but even if we don’t, the journey is already worth it. The bees have taught us so much in just this one visit for me and several for him. Every time we check on them, we will be reminded that God is always working, even when we don’t see the final result immediately

There may be times when we feel like we’re showing up every day, doing the work, being faithful, but the “honey” hasn’t come yet. It’s easy to feel like the results aren’t coming fast enough, or that no one notices all the small things we’re doing. But we can’t give up. We need to keep tending our hive. We have to keep trusting the process.

God sees our faithfulness. He honors the quiet obedience that others may never notice. And in time, He will bring sweetness from even the smallest acts. Just like the bees, our faithfulness may seem unnoticed now, but it’s building something beautiful. The work we’re doing, though unseen, is laying the foundation for something wonderful.