I'm Glad It Was a Bee Sting

A couple of days ago I decided to trim back some bushes in the front yard.  Things are getting overgrown and I want to make space for some new plants.  I stepped up to the 3rd bush of the day and I heard the familiar buzzing.  I looked around and then looked down.  As I spotted the big, fat bee he got me, and got me good.  I screamed, then ran.  I went into the house where my dear daughter promptly got me an ice pack.  Oh did it hurt!  The last time I was stung was 12 years ago, I was pregnant at the time with our 3rd child, and it was December-go figure.

Anyway, I went back outside (yes I am a glutton for punishment) and headed over to the scene of the crime.   As I peered closer to the big thorny bush I noticed a humungous (yes-humungous) nest.  I didn't think it was a bee nest but it was a bee that stung me --- so bee it (lol).  Does a bee sting make one punchy?  Maybe so.

Here is a pic of said nest:

So, my husband comes to look at it and says this is a mud wasp nest.  Mud Wasp?  omg!  (as the 3 year old next door likes to say).  So, lets get this straight, I am clipping away at a bush-innocently I might add-and a bee stings me.  If the bee had not stung me I would have bothered a nest of wasps.  Gasp!  Yes, it is big, No I did not see it, but there were a lot of branches in the way-really, there were and it was getting late-not the brightest part of the day.  I could've been eaten alive by wasps-many wasps.  So, I thank the lone bee that stung me, or should I say warned me, and kept me from multiple wasp stings.  

I have become philosophical in the last 10 years or so, looking at reasons for things and how to apply them to other areas of my life.  How many times do we get hurt, physically or emotionally etc...and wonder why?  Could it be it is to keep something worse from happening?  G-d is the great orchestrator and we are partners with Him.  Things go hand in hand.  

Here is another quick story that may help convince you.

We were expecting baby #4 and knew we needed an addition on the house.  This addition was going on during a drought.  Do you already see where I am going with this?  Yes, of course it rained.  And it rained the night the roof was partly exposed.  Due to our best efforts to cover the exposed roofline with a tarp we woke up to floors that squished when walked upon. The ceiling almost fell in on the baby (BH she was fine) and did fall in on the ginnie pig cage-(BH she survived).  We sucked water out of our carpets for 3 days-no exaggeration.  So much for the drought.   During the following week an electrician came and stood, looking stunned, at our wiring in the wall behind our bed.  He asked me if I smelled any smoke-ever.  I said no.  He said there was a small fire in the wall right behind our bed, it was bad-singed wires, blackened...house could've----well, he was shocked we didn't smell anything.  The contractor just stared at it as well.  What put it out before it got out of hand?  The rain.  

Bee stings and soaked carpets all of a sudden don't sound too bad!

In retrospect all of the things that happen in our lives add up and help make us the person we are today. Its not always easy, its a process, but with faith and some hind sight we can see the silver lining around the cloud! 

Does Size Matter?

While walking down the street I stepped on an.....fill in the blank.  What are some things we can step on?  Candy wrappers, gum, bugs, if you live in our house it would be legos, guitar pics, etc...You would not hear of someone stepping on a piano or an elephant.  Ok, so this sounds strange, but I do have a point.

In this weeks Parsha, Eikev, Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25, G-d is telling us if we do our part, He will do His part.  Simple.  As a result of you keeping the commandments, I will love you, I will keep the covenant for you.  I love Hebrew because it speaks volumes compared to the English.  While Eikev does mean "as a result", it also means heel.  What?  Yes, it means heel.  This is why the Hebrew is so awesome.  When we take a step the first part of our foot to touch the ground is our heel.  Why is this significant?  We just said we would not step on an elephant, but we would step on an ant.  Is the elephant more important than the ant?  No.  Its just bigger.  Translate this to the commandments.  Big and small, or important and not so important.  Sounds harsh to think of some commandments as not so important.  Thats because it is harsh.

What seems to be the smallest commandment carries just as much weight as what may seem to be a bigger and more important commandment.   Its the details, the little things, the behind the scene action that also carries significance, importance.

I met someone who told me they assist the Chevra Kaddisha (Jewish Burial Society) by helping to prepare the body for burial.  Another person explained the importance of washing their hands (ritually) before eating bread every time, someone else kisses the mezzuzah without fail when they leave or enter a building.  Someone shows up every morning for prayers to ensure a minyan in case kaddish needs to be said, a person warmly welcomes strangers into the synagogue to make them feel at home.  Which one of these could we step on with our heel?

My mother in law took care of her mom in her last few years with us.  I would sometimes tuck Nana into bed when my mother in law was out.  One night I turned out the light and said goodnight, walked down the hall and then heard her voice.  I was sure she was calling me so I walked back towards her room.  She was not calling me, she was saying Shema (in Hebrew) and asking G-d to watch over everyone in her life-she named them by name, one by one, she took her time.  I didn't mean to eavesdrop on her prayers but it was beautiful, it brought tears to my eyes.  Was she an observant woman in the way of the "big" mitzvoth?"  No.  But that did not keep her from trampling on this supposed minor one with her heel.

If we are not keeping kosher, we should not let that stop us from saying shema, if we are not keeping Shabbat we can still kiss the mezuzah-these things keep us and spur us on to more things.  In addition, if we are keeping the so called "big" mitzvoth, we should not forget about the little things-these count just as much if not more.

If we feel we can't do any of the mitzvot, we need to think again, start "small".  Starting small can be the biggest step we make, and then we will not be able to crush any of the mitzvot under our heels!