I ran across this quote a while back, and I saved it because I knew I wanted to somehow use it one day. That one day came just a month or so later when a student wrote about how broken she is, and she wasn’t sure how useful she could be for God. I immediately remembered it and shared it with her: Broken crayons still color.
I believe the full quote is, We are all a little broken, but last time I checked, broken crayons still color the same.
The Untouched Crayon
Did you know that broken crayons can be used to do things that in-tact, undamaged, unbroken crayons can’t do?
In order to be an undamaged crayon, it can’t be dull, the label is still neatly placed around it with no scratches or tears, and it essentially has to be untouched by everyone. It only stays in-tact and undamaged (or unbroken) by remaining in the safety of its box and never serving its purpose. It’s during the process of serving its purpose that it becomes dull, needs to be sharpened, or sometimes even breaks.
One of the things people don’t understand is during the process of serving its purpose, a change will occur. How many times have you thrown a crayon out or moved past it to a new one simply because there is a noticeable change in its appearance and in how it colors? This change is different from what occurs when its broken into more than one piece. Don’t confuse the two.
Crayons Break
Although a crayon can break in the midst of serving its purpose, unfortunately, they sometimes break by other means. Someone might be careless and drop it or step on it. Sometimes someone might get overly eager or passionate about their work and simply color too hard with it. Sure, it’s serving its purpose, but neither the creator of the crayon nor the person coloring with it intended for it to break. Sometimes someone else may ask to borrow the crayon, and they just may not take care of it the way they should since it doesn’t belong to them. They may leave it on the floor to accidentally be stepped on and broken by themselves or someone else.
No matter how a crayon is broken, it never has to be thrown away. There are still so many uses for the broken crayon. It can continue to serve its purpose — just in a different way, and sometimes you can even find uses for the broken ones that you couldn’t do with those that have been untouched.
One of my favorite things to do is to take a small, broken crayon that no longer has its label and rub the page with the long side of it. Even better is to lay something under the paper so when I color I’m able to see an outline of what lies beneath. What are some fun uses you’ve found for your broken crayons?
I have the urge to color now!
Fun ideas for broken crayons or small crayon pieces:
- Melt them into shapes of crayons. You can do this in one solid color or a rainbow of colors. Give them as gifts (Valentine’s Day is right around the corner)!
- Create a wax seal
- Make a crayon picture frame
- Turn them into an awesome looking candle
- Use them to make words or letters for wall art
- Melted Crayon Art
These are just a few ideas. Feel free share your ideas for broken crayons.
Misty Fitch | Fearfully Made 