Broken Things

As I was working with students in small groups today, something happened.  Now, this thing that happened was small and should not have caused any distress. However, this was not the case. The effect that this event had on my entire small group was alarming; some students yelled, others cried, and still others stared unbelieving.

What happened, you ask?

A crayon broke.

That is it. That is all it took to bring on tears, shouting, and wide-eyed, open-mouth faces.  A crayon broke. I have taught prekindergarten for eight years and I have seen hundreds if not thousands of crayons break. I can say, however, that I have never before seen the reaction that I experienced today.  As I tried to process through how this broken crayon seemingly broke my students, I simply asked, "Why are you all so upset? It is just a broken crayon." I would love to say that my entire small group provided a cacophony of answers from the literal to the philosophical. However, that was simply not the case. Although, after what seemed like ages, but was only moments, one small voice piped up and simply stated, "We can't use it no more. It's broked." Then after a few more moments, this student stood up, picked up the crayon, and said, "It's okay. I can throw it away."

That was it. The death of a crayon. It was broken, so it had to be thrown away.

Well, being that crayons break all the time, especially in prekindergarten, we have a special bin to put them in where they are eventually turned into other crayons. Luckily, the student remembered this before chucking it into the trash can. The students regained their composure and the day went on.

However, I cannot get the image of these students and their resolute belief that the crayon was now useless out of my head. Although, I get annoyed with broken crayons because that means that I have to go through cabinets, drawers, and bins in order to find replacements, the simple truth is that the crayon was not actually useless. It was just broken.  A crayon's purpose after all is to be used to create, draw, color, or write. That crayon, even though it was broken, could still accomplish its purpose. It could still be used to create, draw, color, or write.

In the same way, we often think that because we fail or are broken, that we have no purpose or that we cannot accomplish the purpose intended for us.  However, nothing is further from the truth. We were all created for a purpose. I am thankful that we do not have to be perfect to be part of God's purpose. We all have cracks, faults, chips, and broken pieces. It is not these seeming imperfections that determine our life, but rather what we do with them.

We can wallow in being broken or throw a pity party for our flaws. Or we can stand up and say, "I am here. I am not perfect. BUT, I will seek God and His will so that His purpose for me can be accomplished."  It is in our imperfections that God comes alongside us with His perfection. He can turn our brokenness into a bridge from one chapter of our life to the next.

Now, the choice is yours. Do you see the broken crayon as something purposeless, only fit for the trash? Or, will you choose to see that even broken things can be used to accomplish a great and mighty purpose?

Single Living

I listen to music all the time. The genre doesn't matter, nor the volume. I listen to a variety from classical to screamo to hip hop to techno to worship. Oftentimes, I end up listening to the radio as I drive to work and around town. It was during one such drive to work, that I listened to a conversation on a Christian radio program. The point of the message was that marriage is the purpose for living. That was it; there were no ifs, ands, or buts. This left me with one question, if marriage is our purpose for living or where we find our purpose for living anyway, what is the purpose for those of us who are single? Are we just in a holding pattern until the right person is brought into our life or are we simply purposeless as long as we are single?

Single. How long were you single? Did your season of being single last for your teenage years, or maybe a few years beyond that? What would you say if I told you that I have been single for the majority of my life? Throughout these years being single I have found that there can be a stigma attached to someone in their late twenties or early thirties who is still single.  Well-meaning people raise questions like, "Don't you want to be married?" "Don't you want to have kids?" "Don't you want to have a family?" "Why aren't you married?" Unfortunately the questions are just the tip of the iceberg; the generalized statements are even worse. Comments like, "The right person will come along when you least expect it," or "God is just preparing you for an amazing person."  The underlying message in these questions and comments is that it is abnormal for an adult in this age group to be single.

Being single is seen as a deficit, as if God cannot or will not use you until you are married. I believe that although it may be atypical in current society for someone in this age group to be unmarried that it is not abnormal. Every one has a different story with different chapters and different characters. The purpose for living is to serve and worship God in obedience to His command to go to the ends of the earth to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is truly the sole purpose of living.  This purpose is accomplished through every believer following God in the timing He has within His plan for their life, whether married or single, whether man or woman, whether young or old.

Being single may be just a season in my life, however, I hope that if God calls me to a life of singleness that I would have the faith required to be obedient to that. To answer the questions posited at the beginning of this post, yes to all. I want to get married one day. I want to share my life with someone one day. I want to have kids one day. I want to have a family one day.  That day is not today and if for me that day never comes - okay, I'm still going to strive to fulfill the purpose that God has called me to, single or not.

To all the married people out there, celebrate your marriage every day by living out your purpose to follow God together. To all the single people, just know that your purpose doesn't start after you say "I do" to a spouse, but rather it began the moment after you said, "I believe" to God.