室內蜜蜂，準備執勤 🐝🌺| Indoor Bee, On Duty 🐝🌺

「我是一隻蜜蜂，我授粉。」

這樣有沒有吸引到你的注意？

花朵有兩個很重要的部分：花藥和柱頭。花藥屬於雄蕊的一部分，負責產生並釋放花粉；花粉再被轉移到雌蕊頂端可接受花粉的柱頭上，授精的過程便可以開始。

我家正在盛放的朱頂紅，已經準備好授粉了。我看見花藥上有不少黃色花粉，而柱頭頂端也已經張開，正好預備接受花粉。

那麼，那些天生幫助花朵傳粉的小蜜蜂在哪裡呢？四月天氣還只是個位數溫度，外頭連一隻蜜蜂都看不見，更不用說室內了。

不要緊，一隻「巨型蜜蜂」已經準備好進行人工授粉。

我用食指輕輕沾取花藥上的花粉，再把花粉塗到旁邊另一朵花的柱頭上，讓它交叉授粉，而不是回到同一朵花上。

如果一切順利，授精便會發生。過些日子，種子就會形成；之後把種子收集起來，便可以再種出新一代的朱頂紅。

很有意思的是，就在差不多同一時間，我看了一段講到《出埃及記》中「流奶與蜜之地」的影片。講員分享了一個小故事：他看見一位同學在攪拌一杯牛奶，便好奇地問他在做甚麼。那位同學回答說，他在把加進去的蜜糖攪勻。就是這樣一個小片段，叫他對「流奶與蜜」這個應許有了更生活化的聯想。

所以，當我完成了這次「室內蜜蜂」的任務後，也該好好獎勵自己一杯蜜糖牛奶，看看味道如何。

有時候，神讓我們近距離看見祂安靜而奇妙的作為——在花粉裡、花瓣裡、種子裡，也在甘甜裡。那位看顧空中飛鳥的主，也看顧花朵、蜜蜂，以及一切隱藏卻仍在進行的生命過程。祂既然看顧大小萬物，又怎會不看顧我們呢？

**你們看那天上的飛鳥，也不種，也不收，也不積蓄在倉裡，你們的天父尚且養活牠。你們不比飛鳥貴重得多嗎？ — 馬太福音 6章26節

#室內蜜蜂 #人工授粉 #朱頂紅 #受造奇妙

Indoor Bee, On Duty 🐝🌺

“I am a bee, and I pollinate.”

Did I get your attention?

Two important parts of a flower are the anther and the stigma. The anther, part of the male stamen, produces and releases pollen. That pollen is then transferred to the stigma, the receptive tip of the female pistil, where fertilization can begin.

My blooming amaryllis is ready for pollination. I can see plenty of yellow pollen on the anthers, and the stigma has opened at the tip, ready to receive it.

So where are the bees, those tiny helpers designed to carry pollen from flower to flower? In April, with single-digit temperatures, there is not a bee in sight — and certainly none flying around indoors.

No problem. A “gigantic bee” is ready for hand pollination.

Using my index finger, I gently touch the pollen on the anthers and then transfer it to the stigma of a neighbouring flower, cross-pollinating it rather than returning it to the same bloom.

If all goes well, fertilization will take place. In time, seeds will form, and later they can be harvested and planted to begin a new generation of amaryllis. Hope I did a good bee job.

Interestingly, around the same time, I watched a video about the “milk and honey” of the Promised Land described in Exodus. The speaker shared a simple story: he saw a classmate stirring a cup of milk and asked what he was doing. The classmate replied that he had added honey to it. That small moment stayed with him, especially during a week when they were reflecting on God’s promise of a land flowing with milk and honey.

So after serving as an indoor bee, perhaps it is only fitting that I reward myself with a cup of milk and honey.

Sometimes God lets us witness His quiet work up close — in pollen, petals, seeds, and sweetness. The Lord who cares for the birds of the air also watches over the flowers, the bees, and the hidden processes of life unfolding before us. If He looks after them, great and small, how much more will He care for us?

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? -- Matthew Chapter 6, verse 26.

#IndoorBee #PollinationWonder #AmaryllisBloom #CreationCare