Bee Balm

“Now we see things imperfectly,
like puzzling reflections in a mirror,
but then we will see everything with perfect clarity.”
 ~1 Corinthians 13:12~

“Speak not, whisper not
Here bloweth thyme and bergamot
Softly on thee every hour
Secret herbs their spices shower.”
~Walter de la Mare, “The Sunken Garden”~

Under other monikers such as wild bergamot and horsemint, the Oswego Indians used the bee balm leaf as an infusion, and it even became a popular substitute for tea after the Boston Tea Party in 1773. Bee balm’s antiseptic power lies in its natural source of thymol, which also gives it a minty aftertaste. Not surprisingly, this charming herb is symbolic of sympathy, clarity of thought, prosperity, and protection, suggestive of its powers to counteract a head cold.

            I could use that type of relief on the days I need spiritual clarity, as well. Coffee or tea with a friend can help shoulder burdens and process as you pray together and discuss courses of action. Clarity comes as we press into the Father and talk with Him about the weights of worry that crush us down. Godly counsel helps clear the clouds so we can view things from a kingdom perspective.

            In Charlotte Bronte’s novel Shirley, our heroine Lucy was despondent because a friend hardly took notice of her. Her lament exhorts us to be that friend for friend or stranger alike, voicing genuine gladness to validate and “see” another, adding sunlight to their day:

“The spirit of gracious and expressed affection.
Ah, let no one shrink from expressing it!
The heart has strange abysses of gloom,
and often yearns for just one word of love to help.
And it is just when the manner may be drier and
less genial than usual that the need may be greatest.”

Gloom can weigh us down if we fail to remember that we are “surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses” (Heb. 12:1). We also have a friend “who sticks closer than a brother” in our episodes of loneliness and sadness (Prov.18:24). It reminds me of the great redwood and sequoia trees, which can grow as high as 300 and beyond, but they rely on the extensive lateral branching system to create stability, also intertwining their roots with the surrounding trees for added stability.

It’s true that all of us fail, at times, to communicate well, to express ourselves toward another with appreciation or gratitude. So on the days when a friend seems far away, press pause and lean into the Holy Spirit, who is at the ready to to reveal His presence to you, to dispel the cloudy day with that cloud of witnesses, those men and women of faith who have suffered trials before us and who are now on the other side of eternity. Can you picture them cheering you on? Rather like spectators at a race, they’re shouting “You’re doing great! Finish line is up ahead!” May you hear encouragement along the way, like healing salve representing ultimate healing, a panacea for spiritual wounds.

Where there is no guidance, a people fall,
but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.
~Proverbs 11:14~

Without counsel plans fail,
but with many advisers they succeed.
~Proverbs 15:22~