The black-and-yellow striped flying critter hovered right in front of my face.

“It’s a hornet!” I exclaimed, as I swatted at it. I scanned the trees, half expecting to see a hornet’s nest, its gray, paper-thin layers concealing an angry swarm, which would shortly be coming for me.

Sweet Husband said, “That’s not a hornet. That’s a good news bee.”

I thought he was making it up. I had never heard of a good news bee.

“Yeah,” he said, “it’s good news that it hasn’t stung you yet.”

The insect looked like a dangerous invasive species whose sting would result in permanent injury or death, or at the very least, leave me with a quarter-sized welt that would hurt for a month.

Sweet Husband continued, as the insect flew away. “I can’t believe you’ve never heard of a good news bee.”

Google provided a photo and an explanation, and we both learned something. The good news bee is named such because it flies right in front of your face as if it is trying to tell you something. They are seen as a sign of good luck or good fortune, and here’s more good news: despite their appearance, they cannot sting!

If you can get one to land on your finger, as the folklore goes, your luck is sure to be especially fortunate.

But the good news bee is not actually a bee – it is a Milesia virginiensis, also called a yellowjacket hover fly. Their mid-flight “hovering” is thought to be a defense mechanism. They are also exceptional pollinators, and maybe that is one more reason to mistake it for a bee.

Bless its little heart, poor thing. Here I was ready to squash it, before it had a chance to tell me something good! 

I can always use good news! In a world full of bad, where nothing seems good, let me live for a little while in the fantasy that there is such a thing as a good news bee. It flies around with a message for all of us, and at the appointed time, it meets us face-to-face.

But what if we don’t have the eyes to see it for what it is, instead thinking it’s only there to do us harm? What if we don’t have the ears to hear its message?

This is not far from the truth, for we miss out on good news all the time because we’re too busy to see it or hear it. We are wrapped up in our work and obligations, and we miss stories from our kids about their days, their energetic selves buzzing all around us, when we would rather just have a moment’s peace and quiet.

Ouch. That one stings a little bit.

Uninterrupted time we could spend with a significant other hearing about their day, even for just fifteen minutes, turns into a zoneout: “What, honey? I’m on TikTok, or watching the Weather Channel, or listening to the Nightly News, or keeping up with the baseball game.”

There are so many ways to miss out on the little tidbits of good news that fly in front of our faces all the time, usually because we’re looking down at the phones in our hands or the TVs on the wall, or else we’re so absorbed in our own narrow space in the world that we fail to see the sunlight peeking in at the corners of our windows.

Just don’t miss the ultimate good news:

“But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I will bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.’ –Luke 2:10

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” –Isaiah 61:1

“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” – Mark 1:15

“And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’” –Romans 10:15

“We tell you the good news: What God promised our ancestors he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus.” –Acts 13:32

The “Good News” is more than just a fantasy: He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

There’s a joyful piece of news! 

And I didn’t hear it from a bee.