ethoughts weekly- Issue 169

July 7, 2007

Deal or No Deal, and the Secret Life of Bees

I’m taking a break studying for my final examination for my first graduate course on the Pentateuch and Joshua. My husband graciously took my children off premises, and the house is incredibly quiet, but not too quiet.

I was outside on my swing, reading my notes over yet again, to help them penetrate my mind, and I remembered I needed to update everyone that my manuscript was finally declined by NavPress. I found out on Independence Day of all times. While the publishing board liked my writing and theme in general, they simply couldn’t agree that my particular book was right for them at the moment. So, for that effort, in that form, it is the end of the road.

I was thinking about this, and getting acquainted with this chapter of disappointment, and I started noticing something unexpected, from my place on the swing. Many honeybees were working at nectar from the clover flowers around me. Some of you may have heard that honeybees are growing increasingly rare in North America. 22 states are about 80% low on them, for unknown reasons. This poses potentially devastating pollination problems for flowers, plants, crops, and subsequently ecosystems. Something appears to be killing off colonies, but they can't yet find the cause.

As I looked around I saw hundreds of these yellow striped insects sucking away, doing their job, carefully combing over each white head of flower. There seemed to be more in number than I remember in past summers. If there was a shortage, no one had mentioned it to this swarm. The ones in Schuylkill County seem to have a secret life. They seem to have made it, according to my backyard. I decided that I was going to have to pick the way of the bee.

While my idea of writing a book quickly, (check), finding a great literary agent quickly (check), and getting publish quickly, (un-check), have not all happened, the story doesn’t end here, not the whole story. Sometimes things don't the other way. The detour takes a wide left. There are still plenty of stories to tell, things to learn, opportunities to seize, experiences to absorb, and the trail has pits and peaks. Like most people I grasp this. My nerves usually just start buzzing when I feel blindfolded, which is when the meadow looks flowerless. And that happens maybe every ten days. Sometimes it is real, and many times it is imagined.

I’ll keep you posted as to my new endeavors. For me, it seems the surprises creep up almost at every turn. But not every single turn, or I would, of course, grow to expect them. You can read a contribution this very moment at theooze.com called "Yahweh and Social Justice".

I think I was planning to hide out in a colony hive of academia for a while, and just didn’t have the guts to be honest with myself. I shouldn’t let myself off so easy. So, I’ve set myself some summer goals. 1) Convert my design office into a study. 2) Write an outline, proposal and sample chapter for my next book idea (and yes, I have one, and it’s total departure from my last topic.) 3) Enjoy the good weather as much as I can. I know it’ll help me make better honey.

So, deal or no deal, it’s going to be okay.

Lisa DeLay

©2007