Broken Crayons Still Color

Don't you wish you were perfect? Don't you wish things were perfect? Thoughts we struggle and grapple with in this 'race' called life. So many of us have been knocked down, losing our will to fight in the process. We get lost in the despair of it all, drowning in self pity and self loathing. How many of us have even entertained the thought, 'What am I doing here, the world would be a better place without me.' How do we overcome this level of brokenness, doubt and despair? How do we rise above everything that seems to be holding us down?

Firstly friends, its okay to have moments of incredible fear and doubt. Its okay to mourn when you may have had the wind knocked out of you, whether by losing a job or messing up an opportunity or being hurt by someone you love. However, we can't stay there, we cannot wallow in hurt and pain until it is all we know. Sometimes we get stuck in a destitute place but we must recognize that what led us here and how we're feeling is only temporary, we can mourn and grieve but at some point we must move on.

When you've hit rock bottom the only place to go is up!

Secondly, we must recognize the why; the message in the mess and the testimony in the test. Why did this happen? Why me? Why do bad things happen to good people? If we evaluate our situation we realize there was something to learn from it, there was a lesson to walk out on the other side with. And these lessons are integral in preparing us for the next level of our lives and sometimes these things have to happen to align the path we must go. It's not always smooth sailing or a simple discovery, lessons can be hard, stretching us and seemingly pushing us beyond our limit, however, it is necessary for us to learn to move on to the next level. And when we move beyond, we have a testimony of how we conquered.

Finally, a heart of gratitude can save a multitude. Last night I watched a video of a man walking on a makeshift bridge, he slipped and fell but he didn't fall to the ground, one of his feet was stuck in a groove and he hung upside down by one foot. He eventually was able to walk off the bridge albeit hurt, after harnessing himself up and someone helping him. I wondered if he realized, had his foot not been stuck in the groove he would have fell to his death under that bridge. That happened for a reason! He got hurt but what could have happened was so much worse. In being grateful we must realize that God ordains our steps and we have to thank Him in the good and bad because He sees the bigger picture, the one we most times don't. No matter how bad things get, it really could always be much worse. I find that when we are filled with gratitude it acts like a barrier and so things meant to break us have a tougher time doing so.

We're not perfect, life isn't perfect and sometimes we are broken but not irreparable. We can rise out of any situation if we give ourselves the chance to. After all, broken crayons still color perfectly and if we allow it, broken pencils can equal new opportunity...