Humblebees
Last spring, by the front porch steps, I planted snapdragons. Would you believe I kept them alive, and they came back? Well, I haven’t seen the yellow ones yet, but the magenta ones are reaching for the sky, even though a few are battered from last week’s storms. The bumble bees love them. I steer clear of most bees, but these little fuzzballs warm my heart. When one comes to collect among the snapdragons, he alights on the outside of the blossom, then wedges himself in between the folds of the bloom and climbs inside until he disappears from sight! A few seconds later, he backs out of the petals, rubs his pollen prize all over himself with his legs, and buzzes over to the next bloom to repeat the process.
Did you know that they were once called humblebees? Apparently, they were called this as early as the 1400s. William Shakespear referenced them in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” as humblebees in the year 1600. Now, this fact is really cool—they were also once called dumbledors—dumble imitating the sound they make, and dor meaning beetle. There must be some connection to this name and J.K. Rowlings famous headmaster of Hogwarts, Dumbledore. A quick google search revealed that Rowling has said she chose the name because she imagined Dumbledore humming to himself, much like buzzing bumblebee.
Did you know the name Deborah means “bee”? I didn’t either! Deborah was a prophetess in the book of Judges. After a significant battle Deborah sang, “When locks are long in Israel, when the people offer themselves willingly[a]— bless the Lord! (Judges 5:2)”
Bumble bees do not have ears, so it is unknown whether they can hear somehow, but they do respond to vibrations made by sound traveling through various things, like wood. It is said that when they return to their nest, they spend several minutes crawling all around to let others know they’ve had a successful expedition before they head out to forage again.
A study conducted in 2017 revealed that these busy workers can engage in social learning. In one particular case, the bees were taught the unusual skill of moving large objects in order to be rewarded. The bees who witnessed another bee complete this task were more likely to attempt to emulate the task.
What if our spiritual strivings were like the bumble bee—the humblebee—the dumbledor. What if we were to just crawl inside the sweet blossom of God’s presence that is offered to us, to just completely immerse ourselves within the petals of grace. What if when we emerged from the flower, we made sure that the sweetness of love covered us thoroughly, stuck to us like pollen, so that we could remain nourished. And what if, after our seemingly slow circuit around the garden, we returned to our nests--our homes, our workplaces, our committees, and our clubs—just so excited to share our bounty that it is as if we are running laps with boundless enthusiasm.
What if we were humble, willing to learn from one another? What if we offered ourselves willingly as servants to the Lord? The deeper you go in the flower of faith, the greater blessing you have to spread to others.