Friends, it is Friday again. Woo-hoo!! Today Kate Motaung has tossed out a toughie for our Five Minute Friday prompt. I always pray through the prompt and ask the Lord to give me the words that He wants me to type out here. Sometimes He gives me a full seven course meal of words, but sometimes it is a short order. Today is short-order. So, let’s get going and see how this turns out.
Today’s prompt is >>>>>>>>>> BLUE.
I reach up high in the closet in my guest bedroom and pull down a box. A very old box full of Crayola Crayons. My crayons from childhood. The box is tattered and patched with tape. I know what I will find when I open it, and hesitate for a moment. The past six months have offered ‘ugly cry’ moments as I mourn the passing of my Mother and the unraveling of some family relationships. Opening my box of crayons could bring on another ugly cry. I decide to open them anyway because I need inspiration for this post.
Inside the box the crayons are neatly organized by color. My eyes scan for the grouping of BLUE crayons. There on the bottom row I find them. Thirteen different BLUE crayons. Each unique. Some well used, others not so much. I also find two notes, hand-written by my Mother. One reminds me that my crayons are now antiques, (I ponder whether that might mean that I am an antique as well???) and that when I am her age, I will appreciate them. I am now the age she was when she wrote that note, and I do appreciate them. The other note tells me that some of the crayon colors have been retired. I have several of the retired colors.
I look at the 13 shades of BLUE, and am reminded of a 1 Corinthians 12: 12-25 (NIV) where Paul is talking about the entire body of Christ being made up of different parts, each part important and indispensable. Verse 18 is the one that intersects with my visit with the BLUE crayons.
But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.
Each of my 13 BLUE crayons are unique and beautiful. Some were used more than others, but each is designed to leave a beautiful mark on this world. Some of the BLUEs may get more recognition than others. Some may be used in subtle, yet profound ways to create a dramatic picture. Each is important to the entire set of crayons. None of my BLUE crayons try to be any shade of BLUE other than the shade they were created to be.
So it is with you and me. God created each of us uniquely and beautifully. We don’t look alike, not do we have the same God-ordained giftings and ministries. Yet, we are part of the whole body of Christ. Each of us needs to recognize that God doesn’t make mistakes. We are exactly the shade of BLUE that God designed us to be. So, friend, go out there and color the world your beautiful shade of BLUE.
