By Elaine Baldwin | @elainehbaldwin

I Love Honey!

I know I say that about a lot of things, but it’s because I enjoy life so much and I embrace the many good things God has given us mere mortals to enjoy. And, my dear blogger friends, that includes honey. And so, honey must be the foundation for this week’s One Another Living Challenge.

I thought about challenging you to include honey in your daily diet in some form or fashion, but you might conclude I am on the payroll of some local beekeeper’s union.  So that is not the challenge,. But adding honey to your diet won’t kill you, it probably will help you and it sure is tasty. And it is best, or so I’ve heard, to consume locally “grown” honey to help with allergies. Honest, I’m not on anyone’s “honey payroll.”  I Just Love Honey!

Then I thought about challenging you to express to your “Honey”, whomever that may be, and in whatever creative way that comes to mind, how much you love them, cherish them and honor them.  If that were this week’s challenge, I would actually challenge you to do that everyday for the next 7 days and just see what positive changes will come about simply because you actually express how special your “Honey” is to you. But, alas, that is not this week’s challenge.

Then I thought about challenging you to think wisely about our Father’s command to Adam, and through generations…to us, to rule over the all that is in the Earth. If this were the challenge this week I would ask you to do some serious soul searching as to just what kind of “rulers” we’ve been over this precious gift called, Earth.

I would ask this because of the perilous plight of the honey bee and I would give you a little education on how their dwindling numbers are already causing difficulty for our world and if it continues will effect many food sources, not just honey. (No I’m not a tree hugger or a paid lobbyist for the honey federation.) I’m just concerned that we, especially born-again believers, are so paranoid to be associated with radicals, that we aren’t very good “rulers.” We take our environment and world for granted, and just like any relationship, when we take them for granted they usually go down the tubes.

“God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:28 (NASB)

But, alas, the challenge to be “good rulers” is not this week’s challenge. But, you can Google honey bees and see for yourself…just because.

No, none of the above is this week’s challenge.

This week’s challenge is to take time to connect in a meaningful way with your grandparents or if they are no longer living, your children’s grandparents (your parent’s) or if you don’t have kids…somebody’s grandparents.

What do grandparents have to do with honey? Everything!

One of my fondest childhood memories is sitting with my dad’s parents at our kitchen table in the mid-afternoon for tea. My grandparents were British through and through and it just would not do to go through an afternoon without tea. My tea was mostly milk with a dab of tea in it, but Grandpa H. liked his tea strong and Grandma H. liked her tea with just a little cream and 2 lumps of sugar. At least that’s what I remember. I was all of five or six so some of it is fuzzy.

What I do remember very clearly was always and I mean always fresh honey was available and liberally used on whatever cracker, bagel or baguette was offered at the time. And I clearly remember Grandpa and I  dabbing a little on our cookies when Grandma wasn’t looking. It was our little secret. Grandpa loved his honey. And so did I!

Grandpa died while living with us. One day my brother walked into their living area and chatted with Grandpa for awhile, probably about sports. He was sitting in his favorite chair. I’ve often wondered why people, especially grandparents, have favorite chairs. Anyway, they finished their conversation. Then within seconds of each other my brother went out to play whatever sport was in season and Grandma returned from the bedroom. She found her husband eternally asleep.

Grandma moved in with her daughter after that and I never had daily “tea” again. I missed it and I missed them. That was oh so many ages ago, but the precious memory of being delighted with tea and honey and the company of my grandparents is fresh and sweet every time I pop open the lid of my honey bear!

Don’t let a precious memory pass you by. It was Grandparents Day on Sunday, but I think our grandparents are worth more than just one day, don’t you?

I’d love to hear about a precious memory of your grandparents and how they impacted your life.