Compound Bow

I got back home here in Chattanooga late in the afternoon on a Saturday in 1991.  My shoulders were sore from driving for twelve hours.  But the garbage needed to be taken out, so I grabbed the bag and headed out for the trash can.  I noticed an unusual duo in the field behind my house.  Ron and Kip had two bales of straw set up and were sighting in a new bow.  I put the bag into the can, put the lid on the can, and walked to the field to check out the action.  Kip’s new compound bow looked nice.  As I hefted it, Kip shoved an arrow into my hand and said, “Here, Gerald, try it one time.”  I didn’t want to.  My shoulders were tight from tensing up all day.  But Kip insisted.  So I notched an arrow and drew back.  But when I had only half-way pulled back the arrow, I felt something snap in my back.  Suddenly, my right shoulder blade felt like it was on fire!  I handed the bow to Kip and hurried home.  After a half hour in a hot shower, I felt some relief.  After two days of liniment and bedrest, I felt some better.  Hey, that single pull on a bow and arrow almost ruined my back!  King David talked about arrows and children in Psalm 127:3-5, “Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them …”  I’m sure David never used a compound bow, but the principle is still the same.  The bow does the work, but the arrows go where they are aimed.  The arrows follow the trajectory where they are pointed.  Hey, that’s exactly how our children are.  They follow the path where their parents point them.  But if they are not aimed carefully, they will go off anywhere.  An unruly adult is ultimately the result of the poor aim of a parent years earlier.  Hey, train your little one!  Teach your teenager!  Mentor your young adult!  Someday, you’ll be glad that you did.  And they will be glad that you did too.