Par a site

(noun) an organism that lives in or on an organism of another species (its host) and benefits by deriving nutrients at the others expense

“Fear is a parasite that is consuming the people”

Synonym: bloodsucker, exploiter, disease-causing agent

Apocalyptical shows are everywhere! There is something to satisfy everyone’s nighttime program preference. Pandemics, zombies, dooms day preppers are just a few in the countless options of a good weekend binge watch session. It’s so much fun when it’s all make pretend and even as you turn off the TV you continue to scrutinize the pivotal ending of the show, imagining all the ways your plan would have absolutely saved the world from destruction…because of course you have no fear.

Rewind to San Francisco, 2012. The zombie fly comes on the scene and is suspect in the decline of honeybee populations due to colony collapse disorder. It is found that this fly parasite inserts its eggs into the bee’s abdomen and uses their bodies as a home for its developing larvae. < Can we all say yuck> Several days later after the eggs have been laid, the parasitized bee comes out of its hive and begins to wander aimlessly. Unable to control their own bodies, they move around with no sense of direction, behaving, zombie-like and then eventually die. After which, the larvae exit the bees’ body and continue the cycle of turning once perfectly healthy and productive bees into ZomBees. Now this might sound nothing more than distasteful to you -there’s no arguing that-, and though you may be wondering why we’re talking about bees as it indirectly affects you… it’s hard not to note the true reflection point of this bee story. It’s not the obvious dwindling of their numbers, at least not exclusively, but rather their foretelling of the days we are living.

Fast forward globally to 2020. The parasite is searching for host bodies and Idle minds are fertile ground where fear can reproduce at a rapid rate. At an even greater speed than the circumstance threatening our livelihood, Fear begins to consume the mind of the victim and terror sets in. Unable to control their own minds and bodies, the hosts wander around without any sense of direction far from what they know and far from those things that once brought them peace and stability. Aimless, scared, defeated, and hopeless they open themselves up to the “what if’s” of this world and unknowingly grant permission to be lead by this spirit of Fear. Every vision for the future is lost. All dreams are put on hold.They bend their kneesto the patterns of this world and once perfectly healthy and productive individuals are now like Zombees. One by one, this parasite leads them to death. Either physical death, or emotional death -some would argue that they are one in the same. And just like that, Fear has won.

I wonder if you’re like the bee today. Do the struggles of this world have you paralyzed with fear? Though it’s not make-pretend, you do have the option of changing the ending of the show. Go back to what you know. That doesn’t mean cultural norms but rather a dependency on G-d, knowing that even in the most abnormal of situations, He’s a constant, unchanging G-d who STILL has a plan.

Don’t be like the bee.