School is almost here again.  I still remember the days of getting "school ready".  Of all the things on the school supply list, my favorite school supply was and is crayons.  I love the smell of a fresh box of crayons.  I love the pointed tip of a brand new, unused crayon.  I remember the year that my mom bought me the biggest box of them the store had.  I think there were 96 colors in the box.  And get this....the box had its own built-in crayon sharpener in the back.

I love color.

I love color that is bold.

I love color that is bright.

I love color that stays.

Picture a new box of crayons in your hands.  The box is nice and sturdy at first.  Each crayon fits in its space perfectly.  You just can't wait to make a masterpiece with the contents.  And maybe you do.  Maybe you make a month's worth of masterpieces.  But everybody knows what happens to a box of crayons in no time.

The sharp point begins to dull.

All of sudden there's less room in the box; the crayons won't fit right.

You have to peel back your crayon's perfect wrapper as it goes flat and stubby.

Crayon's break.

And you can't find your favorite color, the one you need to color the ocean on your map.

At some point, the bottom falls out of the box and your crayons spill on the classroom floor in front of everybody.

So how do you keep crayons looking sharp and bright? How do you keep them in one piece?

The only way I can think of is to NOT use them.

You may or may not have crayons on your supply list, but how do WE "ourselves" stay bold and bright in the upcoming school year? How do we stay in one piece.

By the opposite.

God wants to use us; and I mean use us daily.

Each of you is a unique and beloved color in God's crayon box. Go on and place yourself in his hands.  He'll use you in making unbelievable beauty.  Crayons shrink when being used; not the case with us.  Our brightness grows as we allow God to use us. He will want you to sit with the new girl. He will want you to bring beauty to conversations that might otherwise have bad color.

And remember, he doesn't want you to be the same color as the one beside you. How boring would that be? He made you unique for a reason. Be bold.

He has each of you in the space where you belong.  You may not be with all of the friends you had last year, but that's ok. Be vibrant anyway.

Like a used-up crayon there may be times when you feel dull and maybe even broken.  You may be expecting for the bottom of the box of life to fall open spilling you on the floor.  If you know that feeling, don't fear.

God has a perfect hold on you.

He wants you to live a life of color.    In God's hand, be bright to those around you.  You're the color he wants in his work of art.

And remember, if you've done your graduating and supply lists are a thing of the past-

You're still never too old to color!