I get grumpy when I am hungry too. So, I can understand why everyone is a little upset when Nephi’s bow breaks. The other bows in the group have lost their springs, so maybe Nephi’s is the last functioning one and they are depending on him (and his bow) for food. All around bad luck I guess.
Two responses to the problem: sit around and complain or come up with plan B. Guess who chooses to sit around and complain and guess who does something about it? I’m not sure why Laman and Lemuel and the others don’t decide to make a bow on their own, but they don’t. Maybe they don’t know how. Maybe they are being lazy. Maybe they just don’t think of it. Nephi, on the other hand, is a problem-solver. If he doesn’t know how to make bow, he somehow figures it out; if he is feeling lazy, he someone gets the fortitude to get moving; if he doesn’t know what to do, he at least knows something needs to be done and begins.
Nephi makes “out of wood a bow, and out of a straight stick, an arrow . . .” (1 Nephi 16:23). He also makes a sling. Nephi is successful in finding food after depending on the Lord for direction on where to go and when he returns to his family, “how great was their joy! And it came to pass that they did humble themselves before the Lord, and did give thanks unto him” (1 Nephi 16:32).
Life is full of broken bows and bows that have lost their springs. They come in many forms: maybe it’s a lost job, a health problem, a wayward family member, a failed test, a broken relationship, an addiction, a disability, a doubt of your faith, or a weakened testimony. Whatever the issue may be, we can choose to respond by acting. We can decide to do something about our situation, proceed with faith, and rely on the Lord to show us the way.
When your bow breaks what will you do?
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