Like a Broken Crayon

“Broken! Broken!” my two year-old said with worried eyes as she held up a little stub of orange crayon.

“But it’s okay,” I tried to explain.

I thought about my psychiatrist appointment a few days earlier, where the doctor had with a broad smile, proclaimed me “stable.”  That word meant my next appointment would be in three months instead of the three to six week schedule I’d been on for more than a year. And thankfully it meant no drastic medication changes.  I had breathed a sigh of relief, returning her smile as my eyes brimmed with grateful tears—but that word didn’t take away the fact that I still felt broken.

But it’s okay. Those words echoed in my mind.

I suddenly realized that I, and everyone else who feels a little broken, is like that bright little piece of crayon.  Changed, yes, but still able to fulfill its purpose through The Artist.

There’s a story that I heard several years ago that illustrates this point. 

A water bearer in India had two large pots which he carried at each end of a pole across the back of his neck.  One pot was perfect, but the other had such a crack in it that by the time the man arrived at his master’s house, it had leaked out half of the water it was supposed to hold.  After a time the cracked pot spoke to the man at the stream and said, “I’m ashamed of myself and want to apologize to you.”

“Why?” asked the water bearer.

“I’m only able to deliver half of the water that I’m supposed to because I leak.  I’m broken.”

The man filled the cracked pot with water and said, “But it’s okay. As we return to the master’s house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path.”

As they went up the hill, the cracked pot cheered up as it looked upon all the beautiful wildflowers on the side of the path.  But at the end of the road, the pot realized it was half empty and again apologized.  The man said to the pot, “Did you notice that flowers were only on your side of the path?  That’s because I knew about your flaw.  I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you water them for me.  I pick those flowers to decorate my master’s table.  If you were not just the way you are, he would not have such beauty to grace his house.”

That my friends, is why being broken is okay.  It’s because there is Someone who knows our potential—even with our flaws—and wants us to succeed.  No matter how broken we may be, we are complete when we partner with our Savior, Jesus Christ.

And as I swirled that broken orange crayon along the paper, showing my daughter that it was okay, I smiled as she broke into laughter.

Broken

by Kenneth Cope

Broken clouds give rain
Broken soil grows grain
Broken bread feeds man for one more day
Broken storms yield light
The break of day heals night
Broken pride turns blindness into sight

Broken souls that need His mending
Broken hearts for offering
Could it be that God loves broken things?

Broken chains set free
Broken swords bring peace
Broken walls make friends of you and me
To break the ranks of sin
To break the news of Him
To put on Christ till His name feels broken in

Broken souls that need His mending
Broken hearts for offering
I believe that God loves broken things

And yet our broken faith, our broken promises
Sent love to the cross
And still, that broken flesh, that broken heart of His
Offers us such grace and mercy
Covers us with love undeserving

This broken soul that cries for mending
This broken heart for offering
I'm convinced that God loves broken me

Praise His name, my God loves broken things.