Dear Lord in Heaven,

Thank you so much for creating the honey bees for us. Thank you for your wisdom in creating these insects to make the wonderful honey that is so beneficial to us. Thank you dear Lord, for giving us the opportunity to take care of these bees and we pray for wisdom and strength.

Lord, help me, the insufficient beekeeper, to provide a location for the bees that is most proficient in receiving your wonderful morning sun.

Lord, please help me to remember to provide adequate ventilation, good drinking water, and Lord, help me to remember to place a brick back on the lid so it doesn’t fly off in a storm.

Lord, please help me to move slow but sure, as I maintain the inside of the hive, and give me wisdom, dear Lord, so I don’t interrupt the hive unnecessarily.

Lord, could you please keep the mites, viruses, moths, beetles, and four-footed little critters out of the hive? And please Lord, give me the wisdom I need to adequately assess these situations and treat them wisely.

One more thing Lord, if you could help me not get stung, I’d really appreciate it.But if I do Lord, please help me to continue to love the honey bees anyway.

Thank you so much, Lord.
Your Faithful Beekeeper

P.S.  – Lord, I almost forgot. If you could help me capture a swarm, that would make me really happy, and a little bit of honey, would be great too.

Selected from a memorial for William “Billy” Howard Sheppard, Jr.
October 25, 1940 – December 2, 2016