31/08/2025
The Broken Crayon
In a small elementary school classroom, children buzzed with excitement as their teacher handed out sheets of paper and boxes of crayons.
It was “Coloring Day,” one of the children’s favorite activities. Each child eagerly pulled out their supplies, showing off boxes filled with long, neatly sharpened crayons arranged like rainbow soldiers in a row.
But at the corner of the room sat Daniel, a quiet boy with a hesitant smile. His crayon box was different.
The once-bright cardboard was tattered, its edges torn and faded from use. Inside, there were no shiny, unbroken crayons like those of his classmates.
Instead, there were pieces, half crayons, stubby ends, and broken bits barely hanging onto their wrappers. While the others flaunted their perfect tools, Daniel held his box low, hoping no one would notice.
As the teacher announced the theme of the day’s artwork, Daniel’s heart sank. He wanted to draw, but shame wrapped around him like a cloak. “What will they say?” he thought. “Everyone will laugh at my broken crayons.”
He considered giving up, placing his paper aside so no one would see the mess he might create.
Just then, his teacher noticed his hesitation. Walking over gently, she knelt by his side, her eyes kind and reassuring.
She picked up one of his broken crayons, a small blue stub barely an inch long, and said softly, “Daniel, even broken crayons still color beautifully.”
Her words sank deep into his heart.
Tentatively, he pressed the stub of blue against the paper, and to his surprise, the color was just as rich, just as vibrant as any of the new crayons around him.
Soon, he picked another, and another. Red, yellow, green, all fragments, yet each released its beauty without hesitation.
Daniel began to draw with newfound courage. While others were careful not to break their crayons, he pressed boldly, blending colors, creating textures, and filling the page with life.
By the end of the session, when the teacher gathered the drawings, Daniel’s stood out. His picture was alive with color, vivid, daring, and expressive.
The class stared in awe. No one laughed at his broken crayons anymore. Instead, they whispered, “Wow, that’s beautiful.”
His heart swelled with joy, and he realized the teacher had been right all along, broken does not mean useless.
The Lesson of the Broken Crayon
The story of Daniel and his broken crayons carries a truth we all need. Life has a way of breaking us, through disappointments, failures, heartbreaks, and challenges.
Like Daniel’s crayons, we may not look perfect. Our dreams may be cracked, our strength worn down, and our confidence reduced to fragments.
But just like those crayons, our worth does not disappear because we are broken. In fact, sometimes it is through our brokenness that the most beautiful expressions of life emerge.
A person who has endured hardship often carries deeper compassion. Someone who has stumbled and risen again usually paints life with richer colors of resilience, wisdom, and empathy.
The brokenness you carry can become the very tool God uses to create something breathtaking. The teacher’s reminder, “Even broken crayons still color beautifully,” is not just a message for children but for everyone who feels unworthy, inadequate, or damaged by life’s struggles.
Think of the greatest works of art: many were painted not with perfect brushes or untouched canvases but through trial, correction, and imperfection. So too, your life is not defined by the cracks but by the colors you choose to release despite them.
Daniel’s story tells us:
* You are still useful. Your past mistakes don’t erase your ability to make a difference.
* Your brokenness has beauty. The very pieces you hide may be the reason your life shines brighter.
* Comparison is a thief. Others may look perfect, but perfection does not guarantee vibrancy. Often, the ones who have been through the most paint with the deepest hues.
So, the next time you feel too “broken” to try, remember the crayon box.
Remember Daniel’s picture that became the most vibrant in the class. Remember that in your hands, and in God’s hands, even your fragments can create something beautiful.
Because indeed, even broken crayons still color beautifully.
Many of us hide our scars, our mistakes, and our shortcomings as though they disqualify us from greatness.
We look at others with their “perfect crayons”, their polished lives, shining careers, or unbroken paths, and we shrink back, feeling less than enough.
But what Daniel’s story teaches us is that wholeness is not a prerequisite for usefulness.
In fact, some of the most powerful testimonies come from people who have walked through fire and come out with lessons others could never learn in comfort.
Your broken seasons, the rejection, the delay, the loss, may be the very things that will add depth and vibrancy to your story.
Do not let shame silence your gift. You may not be where you planned to be, you may not have all the resources others flaunt, but with what you have, you can still create beauty.
God is not waiting for your life to be flawless; He is waiting for your willingness to place your fragments in His hands.
So, instead of discarding yourself, pick up your “broken crayons.” Start again. Try again. Dream again. Love again.
And watch as your life begins to paint a picture so radiant that others cannot deny the hand of God in it.
In the hands of God nothing is wasted, not even the broken pieces of your life.
Lord, I pray for everyone reading this today who feels inadequate, forgotten, or unworthy because of their scars. Remind them, O God, that even broken crayons still color beautifully.
Turn their pain into purpose, their shame into strength, and their brokenness into brilliance.
Let their lives shine so vibrantly that others will see Your glory through them.
Teach us not to hide our weaknesses, but to yield them to You, knowing You can create masterpieces out of fragments.
I decree and declare, you shall not be defined by what broke you, but by the beauty God is bringing out of you.
Your future will outshine your past, and you will testify that with God, nothing is ever too broken to be used.
In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen
