Bees arrived from Georgia this week. Our bee association coordinated a bulk order of honey harvesters for new and expanding beekeepers and those little buzzers made it to Tennessee in neatly stacked boxes in the back of a van.

These bees hummed their tunes across state lines confined in 16-inch screened mobile homes. They had been shaken loose from their hives, dumped into a strange smelling box and locked in with a can of food and a queen they didn’t know — ready to travel. Our brave driver picked them up at an apiary (bee yard) in southern Georgia and chauffeured them over 400 miles to Middle Tennessee.

No one asked the bees if they wanted to move and no one gave them any options about where they would end up.

Some would say, “That’s life.” And, they would be right.

Life deals some unexpected cards, which, in turn, affects our stability. It may be a phone call in the middle of the night, an unwelcome meeting with the boss, a stupid decision on our part, a friend’s unforeseen announcement or an unexpected move to a new location.

Our lives can suddenly shift direction with dramatically different outcomes like changing stations on a radio dial. Those resets can tune us up to the joyous notes of a reaggae band, bring us down to a solemn dirge or leave us longing for something familiar in the cacophony of sound from a spirited jazz quartet.

Life is predictably unpredictable and even in the pauses, it’s always changing. If we live long enough our lives look more like a jukebox of assorted hits than a collection of mood-setting classical sonatas.

That’s where faith in God helps. No matter what tune Life is playing for you now, Jesus can add a few notes and turn your discord into a restorative symphony.

Our transplanted bees will adapt to the move. Within a week they’ll be working together as one family, singing the same song with only a dim memory of what was left behind. How about you? You don’t have to stay stuck in your problem like a needle skipping over and over a scratch on a vinyl record.

The question isn’t whether or not to shake your fist at “Life.” The question is how will you respond to what “Life” serves up?

I think I hear the orchestra tuning up. What tune will they play in your life today?