Rubber Band King

In middle school I used to be the rubber band king. Loaded with rubber bands ready to take fire at anyone who dared to stand up to me. All pockets full of ammunition, both wrists covered with rubber, hiding them in places you would not expect. When the teachers started taking them away from other students I would hide them around my bicep, beneath my sleeve keeping them out of sight. Because of this, My determination set me apart, while my competitors were slowly being disarmed by the higher authorities I remained strong, leading the pack. 

With time not only did my determination become stronger, but my precision became better. I was more focused, I was faster, I could hit a target from across the room. A fellow classmate's eyes suffered the consequence of my precision. The secret to shooting a rubber band was to stretch it as far as possible with out snapping it, knowing where its breaking point was. Then aiming straight through your finger onto your target, keeping your eyes on the goal at all times, even when those around you are trying to disarm and remove your resources. 

Well, today I do not hold the title as rubber band king anymore, as I have retired that juvenile mindset and taken on real life responsibilities. But I cannot help to meditate on the picture of the rubber band and what it represents in my life and those around me. 

For example my youngest sister, Jasmine, taking bold steps in order to pursue not only a passion in her life but also to better her character. At the age of eighteen she moved cross country leaving what she knows as home, in order to enter an unknown world to pursue a dream. Then entering an internship where she tells the leaders, "I don't like to speak in public, so I am asking you to pick on me to speak in front of others." as well as, "I know I am eighteen, but I do not want to be treated in that way, give me responsibilities you would entrust an older adult with." She wakes up every morning with the mentality of being bold, "How can I be more bold today?"

I have been utterly surprised by her willingness to step up and her desire to be challenged and be bold. Like a rubber band being stretched further and further back. Stretching in character, taking steps of boldness, over and over again and reaching further back, within and upward in order to be shot further in life. See, when you stretch a rubber band to its maximum it can pierce through the air across the room and nail the target on the head. 

Now, I am not referring to being busy. Being busy is a lousy excuse to sound productive yet accomplish nothing. I am referring to being stretched more and more with precision as your guide. Staying focused on the goal, keeping your eyes on the prize. 

I do not consider myself the rubber band king because I am no longer the one shooting the rubber band, rather I am the one piercing life. Like the rubber band and my sister, I seek out opportunities to be stretched till my breaking point, in order to soar in leaps and bounds through life; aiming at my targets and goals. The more bold I am, the more steps in faith I take, the greater the reward is. 

My question to you is, are you like the rubber band that is stretched further and further back, in order to shoot further in life? Or are you like rest of the rubber bands that remain in the bag, untouched by the king, and become fragile, and snap easily due to lack of use? You have a choice, we have a choice. Lets choose to be bold.