Choosing the Lord's Target

The biggest highlight of my summers as a teenage girl was always the Young Women's camp in northern California. Thanks to the love and care that my leaders have used to make it a welcoming place, Young Women's camp was always where anyone could develop their growth in any way—physically, mentally, emotionally and, most importantly, spiritually. How each of the girls and I had our growing experiences wasn't only through the talks and the spiritual thoughts that our leaders shared with us as we sat at the fire. It was also the activities that were offered for us to do in our spare time. There were service projects, personal progress goals, and of course, the daily chores that each ward was assigned to do, such as cleaning the bathrooms. There were also physical activities that I believed benefited our spiritual growths—swimming, hiking, ropes course, archery, and BB gun shooting. The one physical activity I enjoyed the most was archery.

             Every afternoon, I'd walk up the hill to the shooting range where a bow waited for an archer to pick it up and shoot arrows. Setting the end of the arrow on the bowstring, I'd pull it all the way to my cheekbone and focus on the target. With enough confidence, I'd move my index finger from the tip and release the arrow into the air. If I aimed right, I'd get a bullseye. If not, I'd keep trying until I hit the yellow center.

Learning how to shoot an arrow wasn't easy in the beginning. My arm tired out every time I used all my strength to pull the tail, including my fingers. I'd sometimes have trouble seeing the target and focusing on it with my protective glasses in the way. I also didn't how to aim right, and I missed every time. All of this led to self-doubt & discouragement, as it seemed I would never be able to hit my mark. I was ready to give up.

But through the inspiration of my bishop—an excellent archer and a mentor for me, I found myself motivated to keep trying. Whenever he was present in the shooting range, my bishop taught me how to shoot right. Through his guidance & encouragement, I could shoot better, then I eventually hit a bullseye. At the end of camp that year, I earned an award for it. You could imagine how proud of myself I was for that moment.

In the following year, I hit two bullseyes in one day, followed by at least one more and then earned another award for it, the highest in archery. In my last year at camp, the stake president challenged everyone a game of archery. Though a group of young girls accepted the challenge, I don't think anyone expected to beat him as he was the stake president. But, things turned out the opposite. One archer, in particular, managed to beat the stake president in that archery challenge. I'm sure you can guess who. That was probably the highest award I got in archery that year.

As we go about our daily lives, we are facing many challenges & trials, many regarding the choices of our futures. Any time we must make a decision, especially a big decision, we are often feeling confused, discouraged, scared, and doubtful about ourselves and our choices. We start to lose faith and trust in ourselves and our Heavenly Father. When we don't know what to do or where to go, we wonder in the mists of confusion. I, myself, had wondered in those mists when I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my life or how to achieve the futures I desired. I even didn't know how to listen to the spirit or my own heart.

For those who are sci-fi fans, there's a particular series that I enjoy watching, and some of you may be familiar with it—a show set in a space station built to bring peace between humans and aliens. The name of the series is Babylon 5, also the name of the space station. In one episode, one of the characters, Jeffrey Sinclair, speaks to another person, a Minbari ambassador named Delenn, of his newly revealed destiny and must embark on that path to secure the future & safety of others. Though sad to leave his loved ones and unsure of what challenges lay ahead, he calmly & confidently says to Delenn, "I am like the arrow that springs from the bow. No hesitation. No doubts. My path is clear."

            After hearing those inspiring words, I started thinking of how that quote and how archery applies to us spiritually. I actually thought of two analogies of my own.

            Firstly, when you're the archer in life, choose where your aim is. Once you do, trust your arrow that it will hit your goal. It may not get there the first time, the second time, or the third. It may take ten to twenty times to hit your target. But regardless of the circumstances, keep trying until you get your bullseye. Or, if you need to aim somewhere else, do so. But don't give up.

           Secondly, when you feel unsure of where to go and need spiritual guidance, Heavenly Father, who is the archer, will point us, the arrow, to where He needs us to be. Like the arrow, we must be confident in our target and trust the archer that it's the path we're destined to take. Once we become like the arrow, we can reach our target. We will have gone to where we're needed and have fulfilled Heavenly Father's plan for us. Be without hesitation. Be without doubts. Make your path clear.