“Even when the way goes through Death Valley, I’m not afraid when you walk at my side. Your trusty shepherd’s crook makes me feel secure.” Psalm 23:4 (The Message)
Two years ago I was introduced to the Wade family on Facebook as they were fighting pediatric cancer for one of their twin boys. Within a year, they had to temporarily say goodbye to their brave son, Jonny, whom they will see again in Heaven but continue to fight to eradicate pediatric cancer in his memory. You can check out their website and foundation here if interested: http://kidsshouldnthavecancer.org/
I watched an interview Mrs. Wade was doing and she made a statement, “broken crayons still color” which resonated with me. The picture that broken crayons create is very different from a picture colored with brand new crayons. However, I believe God enjoys both the masterpieces of broken and brand new crayons – each with their own story and their own mission.
God used that phrase to speak two truths to my heart. Today I want to talk about the first and the next time we’re together I’ll share about the other. I had a back seat to Mrs. Wade’s journey of helping her son, Johnny, through his sickness as well as his twin brother find his new normal after his death. I will never understand the heartache at her level; however, I do understand what it means to say goodbye to a child lost to miscarriage.
Each of us has the choice to either color with the broken crayons of life we’ve been given or leave them in the drawer and reach for brand new crayons. Each of us can present those broken crayons to our Heavenly Father to create the masterpiece of His choosing and along the way help others whose crayons have been broken too.
I don’t believe God intended for us to have broken crayons in this world. He intended for perfection… a life without sin. However, sin did enter the world and broken crayons were introduced. And what we choose to do with the broken crayons in our lives does matter. Throwing them away, hiding them in a box or ignoring them doesn’t create the masterpiece God is able to use to encourage another person with their own brokenness. However, choosing to use them to create the masterpiece God intended leads to beauty in the broken. I believe strongly that pleases our Father.
What the enemy chooses for evil, God can take and turn into something beautiful. We just have to be willing.
Come back next time when I share the other truth God taught me from broken crayons.
© Cheri Swalwell 2017