Hornets

Hornet

     Many years ago when I was expecting our first baby, I had an encounter with a hornets’ nest.  That experience has left scars from the emotional impact all these years later.  How could a hornet have such an impact on one person?  Here is the story.

     We had been married about 1 year.  My parents won a trip to Europe and asked John and I if we would be willing to stay at their home while they were gone and watch all my siblings.  We agreed and stayed in their home for about 10 days. 

     One morning, I went out to their shed to get something.  To this day I can’t imagine what I needed to get from that shed.  I doubt I had ever been in that shed my entire life.  Anyway, I opened the shed and moved an old rug, not knowing of course that there was a hive of hornets.  They immediately swarmed after me by the hundreds.  I screamed as the first one attacked me and ran back into the house.  I must have been hysterical because I just kept running with all of them following me.  Luckily, John was working night shift and was home, he surmised the situation quickly and put me into one room, shut the door and proceeded to remove my clothing (I had over 20 stings on me at that point.)  He then killed all the hornets on my body and in that room.  I remember being terrified and in shock because I couldn’t think or move.  My husband then left me in the room, had all my young siblings chase and kill all the hornets in the home. 

     Later that day he took me to the doctor because I was worried about my pregnancy.  I was about 4 months along.  My doctor was out of town and so the physician in charge said to take a prescription and just wait and see.  They didn’t know what effects the hornet stings might have.

     I waited and time passed.  My due date came; I started labor and went directly to the hospital.  During the birth of our first son, we learned that the placenta had stopped growing early on and during delivery the placenta came first and our baby didn’t survive.  Had they known they would have done a c-section.  He was a beautiful well formed baby and we just stared at him in shock.  As a young couple we had to deal with death and a funeral.  It was hard, and I thought I would morn that baby the rest of my life.  I learned many valuable lessons during that time in my life.  The most important was I needed to trust the Lord.  I knew He could have saved my baby if it was His will.  That was one of my first lessons in trust, and there was many more to come, all of which have played an important role in making me who I am today.

     We buried our first baby and knew that the shock and stings of the hornets had an effect on my delivery.  This was over 40 years ago.  I still get nervous when I see bees and my pulse rises considerably if I see a hornet.