More from Carol Harrison

My granddaughter, Arianna Tooke, continues to do various art projects and work with other artists who are painting murals. It has been a number of years since she did that broken crayon art project, but it still remains one of my favorite pieces of her art.

I like to do creative-type projects, but they are not the caliber of Arianna’s artwork. Yet she encourages me all the time just to enjoy the process. Several years ago, I began making handmade journals called junk journals. I use scraps of paper, material, and even pieces of junk mail or envelopes that come into the house to use in these books. I take pieces that no one else wants to use or that others consider junk and reuse them to make something useful and beautiful.

As I make these paper crafting books, it helps me realize the truth of God’s word that we are to present ourselves to God—not just what we consider the good parts, but all of us. God wants me to offer my fears and failures along with my praise and potential. Then God will take all those bits and pieces and transform them into something useful and beautiful for God’s glory.

In the NIV, Ephesians 2:10 says that we are God’s handiwork. I really like that picture of God making me into who he wants me to be for God’s glory and to do the tasks God asks me to do. God fixes the broken bits, changes the mess of my life into a message to share the goodness of God with others, and takes my trials and turns them into testimonies. But first I need to give God everything.

I still don’t prefer to use the broken crayons for coloring or drawing, but I know they will work well. They can also become something entirely new and useful or beautiful.