II Timothy 1:5
I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, now am persuaded now lives in you also.
It was the first time that we would be staffing the nursery in, well, a very long time! All the items we needed were already in place, all we needed were the toddlers with their parent’s instructions, when they were dropped off. And here they came! Tiny people dressed in their best for church. Some with blond hair and some with almost no hair. Some in dresses, some in jeans. All had a shy demeanor clinging to parents-until we made them feel comfortable with us.
We had a great time! PopPop read all the books to the children on his lap. I played in the kitchen, naming foods and putting them in their proper places, on the stove, in the refrigerator, in the cupboard and on the table.
I was reminded of the joy I had when first I did the same things with my children (now in their forties) and my grandchildren (now ages 20 down to 9). I believe any time we can spend with the next generations showing them love, sharing our wisdom gleaned over the years, or just learning through play, is making a treasured memory-for both the children and me!
After we exhausted all the books and toys they wanted to play with, I found some coloring books. Crayons had to be carefully watched as little people like to taste everything. I offered 5 crayon colors they could choose from. Some crayons were pretty colors, but they were broken. They were rejected immediately. I reminded the children that the broken crayons still color in the pretty colors they liked. I was pleased when they took them. Hmmmmm maybe in even that small act of choosing a broken crayon, a lesson had been learned. I know I was listening to my own lesson. We as people, even if our paper cover is torn and we have breaks, bruises and scars from previous hurts, God still uses us as we use our brokenness to share God’s goodness with all. We would be wise to remember that other ‘broken crayons’ also has a story to be heard, and still needs the love of Jesus poured out on them.
Do you have any ‘broken crayons in your life?
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