I had one of those “In awe of God” moments last night and I had to stop and write a quick post about it. For those of you who don’t know, we are on staff at World Harvest Church in Columbus, OH. Our kids are enrolled in Harvest Preparatory Academy (check out our website) and they are not only receiving a world-class education, they are growing spiritually like never before. The cry of my heart is that God would lay hold of our kids at an early age and that they would never let go.
Before I tell you what happened, I must tell you that it is amazing how the Holy Spirit can minister through you / to you in the unexpected moments of life. The other night I was putting the kids to bed and they really wanted to hear a story. I will often read them a story, but some times I opt to have them make up a story to inspire creativity. I try to lead by example and sometimes make up a story on the spot; trying to teach them life-lessons. I told them a brief story about a little boy name Josiah and a little girl name Xoe who were playing. While they were playing, they saw a little boy crying and they asked him what was wrong. As the little boy choked back the tears he said “I am sad because I don’t have any friends” Xoe and Josiah [in the story] replied “Dont cry, we will be your friends.” The little boy wiped his tears and said “Really?” Xoe, Josiah, and the little boy laughed and played and became best friends. It was a brief story but the kids were satisfied and off to bed they went.
Lets fast forward to last night…
I was one of the crew working in Kid Harvest and I just happened to be in my kids class. The kids were all playing and having a good time coloring, playing and just “being kids.” As class was about to begin there was a little boy was dropped off in class who was mildly autistic. We [the teachers] tried to reach out to him, comfort him, and help him adjust to the environment. He was such a sweet kid, but he was just having a very hard time. He was sobbing and asking for his mommy, who was in the adult service receiving ministry. We were debating on calling the parent out of the service as the little boy backed into the corner and broke down. As the little boy crumpled in the corner, my kids went over to him…
I am still tearing up thinking about what the Holy Spirit did next.
I saw the story come to life, as my kids reached out to the little boy asking him to be their friend.
I must admit I started to cry; I could not help it.
I could see Jesus in the faces of the children as they loved and accepted the little boy. His countenance changed and he started having fun. By the end of the class Xoe and Josiah gave him a goodbye hug and he was smiling and loving life.
I say all of this to let you know…
God loved that little autistic boy so much that he prepared the hearts of two kids to help him through a difficult time. Awesome and incredible things were happening in the Adult service, but God does not only care about reaching the hearts of the adults, he cares about reaching the hearts of the kids too. God cares about you and has a plan for your life. He will order the steps of OTHER people to bring his plan to pass in YOUR life.