Don’t Worry. It’s a Rubber Band

Life is both a box of chocolates and a rubber band. But because we’re all tired of chocolate and some of us even lost our Halloween chocolate moments before the arrival of trick-or-treaters and had to make a mad dash to Walmart to replenish said chocolate, let’s say that life is more like a rubber band than a box of chocolates.

Life is a rubber band. There are seasons in which the rubber band is stretched tightly:

• when you or someone close to you is dealing with a health crisis
• when work is wild
• when a family member is struggling through a hard time
• when you are the one struggling through a hard time.

A rubber band stretched too tightly can even break, not unlike people. We do and do, stretch ourselves farther and farther, until our human bodies speak up. My spiritual director will ask where in my body I am carrying my worry and anxiety. The person I see for infrequent massages will answer: in her neck. That place in your very human body that is tight or unsettled or chronically in pain may be your body telling you the rubber band is stretching too far.

When the rubber band stretched too far in Jesus’ life, he went away for a while. He prayed by himself. He even fell asleep on a boat during a storm, much to the horror of his freaked-out friends. How could he sleep through a storm? He was that tired. The rubber band had stretched and stretched.

When life is overwhelming, don’t worry. It’s just a rubber band. You are not in charge of the world, only your own self and the rubber band that is your life.

• What might you let go to loosen the tension in your life?
• Who might you ask for help? Who might pick up your groceries or kid after school. In fact, even the hard work of asking for help retracts the rubber band. You are admitting you are only human, and although this is a hard truth, it is also a relief.
• Whose voice is in your head telling you to do more or do it more perfectly? Have a meeting with that fictitious person and explain that they can have the day off today. You are practicing the gentle love of Jesus.

It’s only a rubber band. The world is not falling apart or coming to an end. Instead, you are being invited to admit your human limitations and accept Jesus’ limitless grace – even better than a box of chocolates.

Photo Credit: Michael Walter on Unsplash