A broken arm, a broken spirit and a broken crayon. How do these fit together? Well, they're obviously all broken. But there's a deeper connection than that.
Even though these things are broken, they still have worth.
The broken arm can heal, the broken spirit can be restored and the broken crayon still adds color to what it touches. Does this mean that things will be as easy as they were before these things became broken? No.
It will take time for the arm to heal, and it may not heal itself to its original state. The broken spirit may feel like it can never be restored. And it's not as easy to color with a broken crayon.
If you have the option to choose between a brand-new box of crayons and ones that have been used, worn down and broken, I'm pretty sure you'd pick the new box. It's not that the used crayons won't work; they just aren't as appealing.
We do the same thing to ourselves and others.
You do this when you see your reflection and think you're not as good as others, when you see someone else struggling and judge them, and even when you see someone and think they're not as good as others (even if you don't think they're worthless).
It's easy to judge — to look at the crayons in front of yourself and pick the new ones that are easier to color with, even when that means seeing yourself as a broken crayon. But guess what.
All crayons, new or broken, add color to what they touch.
Everyone has touched someone else's life, even when they feel like they are completely broken. Have you ever seen someone overcome something difficult and thought to yourself, "Wow, they're stronger than I am! I couldn't have done that."
Think about that person and how broken they likely felt while they were fighting.
Maybe you're that person to someone else. Maybe, just maybe, when you feel completely broken, someone else is looking at you and sees the broken crayon that still colors the same as an unbroken crayon.
Maybe you're looking at the unbroken crayons around you and wondering how you fit in — if the person drawing will ever pick you to add color to the picture, or if you're too broken to use.
Even if you're broken, you still add color to the picture.
God has a plan for all the crayons in the world, even the broken ones, that will create a picture so beautiful we cannot imagine it. Jeremiah 29:11 says:
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
When you feel broken or see someone else that seems broken, know that God has a plan. Even when someone is broken, God's plans never include harming anyone.
It's hard to believe this when you feel broken or see innocent people that are broken and hurting. Jesus explains in John 16:33 that we will have trouble in the world, but to take heart because he has overcome the world.
Jesus didn't say that there may be trouble, he said that there will be trouble.
Can anyone explain why God lets this trouble happen? I honestly don't think so. But that doesn't mean that there isn't hope for the broken crayons. 1 Corinthians 13:12 explains that we do not see things that God does clearly, but we will soon see things with perfect clarity.
The world is full of broken crayons that God has a plan for.
