In Saint Louis in 1984, an unemployed cleaning woman noticed a few bees buzzing around the attic of her home. Since there were only a few, she made no effort to deal with them. Over the summer the bees continued to fly in and out the attic vent while the woman remained unconcerned, unaware of the growing city of bees that was taking up residence just above her ceiling.

The whole attic became a hive, and the ceiling of the second-floor bedroom finally caved in under the weight of hundreds of pounds of honey and thousands of angry bees. While the woman escaped serious injury, she was unable to repair the damage of her accumulated neglect.

That's a parable about many people's lives, is it not? We let things go. We put off dealing with them. We ignore that which is disturbing, yet inconvenient until it is too late. And our ceiling comes crashing in.

Neglect. What a powerful word. It describes many family relationships. Neglect. Spouses neglected. Children neglected. Later, older parents neglected. Responsibilities neglected. Opportunities neglected. It is a specter that haunts all of life. Neglect. Ever seen a neighborhood that's neglected? How about a home? A garden?