Commit your work to the Lord, then it will succeed.—Proverbs 16:3 (TLB)

After my husband, Jack, died in 2019, I’d floundered like a fish flopping on a sidewalk, out of place and with no purpose. So I decided to visit my son Michael and his fiancée, Monica, in Ohio. Monica had taken up beekeeping as a hobby, and I couldn’t wait to see the 30,000 bees she’d purchased. 

Monica suited us up in head-to-toe Star Wars–like white beekeeper suits with elastic at the wrists and ankles. Then she pulled a number of frames covered in bees out of the bee boxes until she found the one with the queen. “See? She’s bigger than the others with longer legs.” 

Monica explained the different roles each bee has. “The nurse bee feeds the young. The architects build the comb. Cleaners, organizers, and honey makers do exactly what their name says. The foragers are the most important because they are the pollinators in a three-mile radius. Guard bees with mature stingers keep intruders out of the hive. The queen bee’s only job is to lay 2,000 eggs a day. The drone bees mate with neighboring queens to spread healthy genes. The undertakers clean out the dead bees and debris from the hive.” 

Just then, one of the guard bees stung me on my ankle through my sock. I got the message. I also got God’s message—we all have a role and a purpose in life. Back home, I got back to my purposeful life: writing, giving speeches, painting, driving people to the airport, socializing more, sending handwritten notes to all those I love, volunteering . . . things I’d let slide for a few years.