Giant Bees and a Giant God

“And now she’s all puffed up like a giant marshmallow!” Emily exclaimed breathlessly as she finished telling Jessie about her friend Marcie.

“All that from a little bee sting?” Jessie asked. “Is that true Aunt Angela?”

Jessie turned to her cousin’s mom, who sat in the living room with them.

“Well, Marcie is allergic to bee stings, and they can make her sick. Her face gets puffy, but I wouldn’t say that she’s like a ‘giant marshmallow.’”

“And,” Emily continued, “Marcie’s mom has to give her a shot right away when she gets stung. That’s like getting stung twice at the same time! Oh, I hope that never happens to me.” Emily shuddered.

“Emily,” said her mom as she got up to leave the room. “I know for a fact that you are not allergic to bee stings, so don’t be so dramatic. You’ll scare yourself silly.”

Jessie giggled as she imagined what it might be like if Emily “scared herself silly,” running around in circles screaming at the top of her lungs.

“Come on, silly,” said Jessie. “Let’s go outside.”

But Emily didn’t budge. “Not me. There might be bees outside. I’m staying right here.”

Just then Emily’s mom called out from the other room, “Emily, that’s enough! Go outside and play.”

Emily sighed, slowly getting up from the couch, and trudged to the back door. She opened the door a tiny crack and peeked out.

“Okay. I don’t see any bees or hear any buzzing. Let’s make a run for it!”

She ran as fast as she could to the swing set.

Jessie followed Emily when suddenly she heard a buzzing noise. A fuzzy, fat, black-and-yellow-striped bee flew right past her nose.

“Yikes!” Jessie jumped back.

Emily sprang from her swing and ran to Jessie.

“Are you okay? I saw that bee attack you! It was enormous. Did it sting you? Are you puffing up?” Emily peered closely at Jessie’s face and poked at her cheeks.

“No, Emily. I’m not puffing up,” she replied, flicking Emily’s hand away from her face. “The bee just flew by. It didn’t sting me.”

“What’s all the fuss about?” asked Jeremy as he came through the gate.

Emily retold the story about Marcie getting all puffy from a bee sting. “And just now, Jessie was attacked by a giant bee!” she finished.

“Emily, you’re crazy,” said her brother.

“I don’t know,” Jessie said. “Your mom did say that Marcie did get sick and puffy.”

“Yeah, but the bee didn’t attack her. Mom told me about it. The bee was just sitting on the table outside, and Marcie didn’t see it when she put her hand down,” Jeremy explained.

Jessie breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’m thirsty,” Jeremy announced. “Let’s get something to drink.”

Soon the three cousins were sitting on the porch sipping lemonade.

“I still say bees are scary. They’re huge and fat, like the one that flew by Jessie. They’re giant!”

“But you’re not afraid now,” said Jeremy.

“No. There aren’t any bees around now,” Emily replied.

“What about those bees?” Jeremy pointed at the flower bush next to Emily.

To her horror, there was not just one but three fat bumblebees hovering over the flowers. “Waaaaa! Jessie! Run away!”

Jessie was so startled by Emily’s cries, she jumped right off the porch. Emily grabbed onto Jessie’s shoulders, and the two of them ran around in circles, screaming, “Aaaaa! Waaaa! A bee, a bee!”

Jeremy laughed so hard at the girls, he spilled his lemonade.

“What is going on out here?” asked Mom as she came out and stood on the porch.

“Mom! Mom! A bee! It’s after us!” Emily shouted, still clinging to Jessie.

“Aunt Angela, there’s lots of them! Giant bees!” Jessie called out as she continued to run around the yard.

“See there? You girls have scared yourselves silly!” Emily’s mom called out. “Stop screaming and come here.”

Jessie stopped running and Emily let go of her. They jogged quickly back to the porch, ready to duck and dodge any more bees.

“You know, Emily,” Jeremy said in his best big-brother voice, “I was just thinking, remember how Mom and Dad bought me that special star lamp?”

“Yeah, because you were afraid of the dark,” Emily answered.

“Yeah, I was afraid of the dark,” Jeremy continued. “But when I trust God to be with me, he helps me not to be scared anymore.”

“So?”

“Well, I figured God can help you not be afraid of bees anymore,” Jeremy explained.

“That’s true, Emily,” Mom agreed. “We can trust God to help us when we’re afraid.”

“I don’t know.” Emily looked suspiciously at the bees.

“Look,” Jeremy pointed to the bees. “They’re not hurting you. They just want the flowers. Besides, you’re scarier to them.”

“Yeah, Emily,” Jessie remarked, “we’re giants compared to them!”

“I guess you’re right,” Emily nodded. “They’re not trying to attack me, but I guess they’ll sting if I scare them accidently.”

“That’s usually how it works,” Mom said as she hugged Emily. “God is more ‘giant’ than those bees. He will help you not to be afraid if you trust him.”

Jessie tugged on Emily’s arm. “Let’s go swing!”

The girls raced to the swing set—the bees forgotten.

Download Coloring Page