Pages

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

A Taste of Honey



"We will be friends until forever, just you wait and see."  ~Winnie the Pooh

"Honey, let me tell you that I LOVE the laughing sound.  I love to make the laughing sound."
~from Honey, I Love by Eloise Greenfield

I have been thinking today of Winnie the Pooh and his love for honey, and more than that, of his heart-felt love for friends and the great delight he takes in giving and receiving simple graces. 
A young girl from South Africa whom I had never met, once prayed for me.  She said she saw me as Winnie the Pooh getting lost in the wonder of God, and going from house to house--those of my friends--to celebrate and delight in His goodness.  I have never forgotten it.

And if truth be told, I would have to say I am like Pooh--even the "tubiness." {smile}  I love sweet things: ice-cream, honey in my tea, baby smiles, husband kisses, a friend's hand-written note, the smell of cinnamon and honeysuckle, Summer rain and Sweet Water from the Rock...Holy Spirit whispers. 
I imagine sweetness, or the need for it, was written in my DNA, for the more I taste of Jesus, the more I desire Him.  And the more I know his goodness, the more I discover there is to know.  I can't get enough.
But we can never be too full of God, can we?
Paul wrote this to his friends in Ephesus:
For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. ~Ephesians 3:14-19 NIV
Love surpasses knowledge.  Love fills us with God. 
In love, my mother gave me the name, Melissa Anne.  I was supposed to be a Mildred like all the other oldest daughters.  Thankfully she broke tradition.  Melissa means, "honeybee."  And Anne, "grace."  The first I have always been.  And the second, I am growing into.  I am learning to love as I am loved.  I am learning to be love and grace in a world that hungers for a taste of honey.

And God has so graced me with wonderful family and friends--precious ones all carrying unique the seed, the DNA, of our Creator--all who help to make me who I am. 
I wrote this poem below in honor of you, and in honor of Him whose presence I adore.  Whether here, or there or somewhere in the air, I send you thanks and love and the sweetest of blessings.  God promises to those who take delight in Him, the desires of their hearts--I pray your hearts bloom with His goodness toward you.


A Taste of Honey

 Honey, I love
And the perfume of bees
Running barefoot in clover
Light breaking through Willow trees


I love the sunny lilt of laughter and
The three of us on our knees
Looking for extraordinary
The taste of tea-berry leaves


I love how the hush of evening
Settles sweet like the sip of our tea
And we sway to earth's rhythms
Listening to Nature's soliloquy


I love this Love poured thick
This honeyed mead
That covers and cross pollinates--like bees
And how it washes away my sins


And I cannot help but love, savor
The residue of friends gone but not forgotten
Those who smeared me 

With their own golden laughter

I love this shine, this honey dew
  This grace that makes me gasp aloud in wonder

As I remember you and I love
I love tasting Your presence


With Emily and friends, sharing our Imperfect Prose.
 

Photo Credit:  flickr - EchoForsberg

17 comments:

  1. From one "Bee" to another..... those were some honey sweet words you wrote Mildred.. I mean Melissa! Hehe

    ReplyDelete
  2. Those verses from Ephesians have been on my heart this week - I have been praying for August to make me FULL of everything He wants me to be. I love your line, "I love this Love poured thick." So true.

    ReplyDelete
  3. what a beautiful tender verse...you leave me with big smiles....i think i might like a bit of that honey...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wonderful theme! I just love that your name means honeybee! Mine is Alyssa and it means "logical" but I've somehow always loved that. I love reasoning and studying and teaching -- funny how our names can come to define us... I agree, we can never be too full of God.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love Winnie the Pooh!!! This is a beautiful poem. Thanks for sharing it. I always love coming here and reading the poems you write.

    Blessings,
    <><

    ReplyDelete
  6. I was getting ready to call it a night; feeling very exhausted from a meeting with insurance agents for the last 4 hours.....so decided to look at FB really quick before hitting the hay and I'm so glad I did. As I was sitting here eating my bananas and peanut butter - LOL, I read your blog and was tearing up in a short time just feeling the "thickness" of the Father's love wash over me and completely saturate me with his presence and his peace. Thank you for posting this...just what I needed to soak in before the day is over....

    ReplyDelete
  7. I am loving this post this morning...so beautiful, original, inspiring,and sweet. Thank you for sharing Melissa :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Deborah, I love how our names mean the same thing!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Amanda, isn't it amazing that the desire of our hearts is to be full of Him. He won't deny us--He's giving us eyes to see that Love overflowing is who we were always meant to be. And did you know your name--I looked it up--means "worthy of love"? I love it! :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Brian, it is so good to hear from you. You are one who loves with your words, and they are sweet like honey. Blessings to you, brother!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Child of God, I love your friendship. Thanks for visiting and blessing me today.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Dear Rhonda, you are precious in His sight! Like you, I love the sense of God's love pouring over me like warm honey--there is nothing like it! I am thankful we are allowed this one sweet addiction. Peanut-butter and bananas is good too! LOL

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thank you Charissa. It's good to hear from you as well. I hope today brings you great adventure, the sweetest of blessings and fullness of joy!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Alyssa, there is so much in a name! I am also very logical--and our names do sound similar. :) I love the way Abraham and Sarah, Jacob/Israel, Benjamin, Saul/Paul and others had their names changed to redefine their new identities. We have a new name too, that no one else knows but God. For a season I had dream after dream where I was receiving gifts and letters of all sorts from heaven with my name and address on them. I felt like God was letting me know that He knew me, and His eye was on me. It's a wonderful thing to be known by God! Blessings, Alyssa.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love winnie the pooh.... and your poem. Recently I was taking inventory around my blog and saw that you are subscribed. I'm honoured. Blessings to you with all the sweetness of honey,
    Eleanor

    ReplyDelete
  16. Delightful Pooh and you! Sweet words you share with us.

    ReplyDelete
  17. oh melissa, you are full of sweetness, overflowing so, and you help me believe in the love of God just by being you. thank you.

    ReplyDelete

I welcome and appreciate your kind words and comments.