{"id":2450,"date":"2012-01-23T12:02:26","date_gmt":"2012-01-23T17:02:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=2450"},"modified":"2012-01-23T12:04:18","modified_gmt":"2012-01-23T17:04:18","slug":"when-the-lord-goes-before","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/01\/when-the-lord-goes-before.html","title":{"rendered":"When the Lord goes before…"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Three weeks ago, I planned my lesson for Special Gathering for this last Sunday. \u00a0We are a ministry within the mentally challenged community. \u00a0Our purpose is discipleship and evangelism of this important populations. \u00a0As part of the teaching, I wanted to have our members make get-well cards for two people who are in the hospital.<\/p>\n

I was a bit leery because the Bible study teachers at Special Gathering are possessive of the time spent with their class members. \u00a0They don’t like to share. \u00a0This, of course, is a good thing. \u00a0However, I try to not interfere with this half-hour when they are teaching the Word to their students.<\/p>\n

It seemed like a good idea three weeks ahead of time, but as the Sunday approached, I became more and more apprehensive. \u00a0In my mind, I settled on a plan to let the teachers take the members of their classes into their respective rooms and have them do the cards as class units.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>When I arrived at\u00a0First United Methodist Church of Melbourne,<\/a>\u00a0which graciously hosts our Sunday morning chapel services, the campus supertindent met me at the door. \u00a0In a bit a frenzy, he reported, \u00a0“Your Special Gathering Bible classrooms are completely filled with things that will be sold next Saturday at the rummage sale. \u00a0I don’t know what you are going to do for classrooms.”<\/p>\n

I smiled, clutching my get-well cards to my heart. \u00a0“That’s great. \u00a0It seems God had other plans for today.”<\/p>\n

It isn’t often that the Lord clearly breaks into our lives, helping us to understand that He walks before us and directs our lives. \u00a0However, when\u00a0a coincidence<\/em>\u00a0is too supernatural to be ignored, even the greatest skeptic must agree that the Lord does indeed help, direct and guide our lives.<\/p>\n

I can hardly imagine how difficult this concept must be for our members who are mentally challenged and may even wrestle with other disabilities. \u00a0On the other hand, they seem to grasp these difficult principles with the gusto of an anxious toddler. \u00a0Perhaps, they are more blessed than we can ever imagine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Three weeks ago, I planned my lesson for Special Gathering for this last Sunday. \u00a0We are a ministry within the mentally challenged community. \u00a0Our purpose is discipleship and evangelism of this important populations. \u00a0As part of the teaching, I wanted to have our members make get-well cards for two people who are in the hospital.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,20,3,182,40,186,49],"tags":[690,21,688,18,699,715,701,694,689,6],"class_list":["post-2450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-church","category-developmental-disabilities","category-disability","category-faith","category-hope","category-inspiration","tag-autism-spectrum","tag-christian","tag-christianity","tag-discipleship","tag-faith","tag-hope","tag-inspiration","tag-intellectual-disability","tag-mentally-challenged-community","tag-simple-scriptural-truths"],"yoast_head":"\nWhen the Lord goes before... - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/01\/when-the-lord-goes-before.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"When the Lord goes before... - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Three weeks ago, I planned my lesson for Special Gathering for this last Sunday. \u00a0We are a ministry within the mentally challenged community. \u00a0Our purpose is discipleship and evangelism of this important populations. \u00a0As part of the teaching, I wanted to have our members make get-well cards for two people who are in the hospital.…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/01\/when-the-lord-goes-before.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-01-23T17:02:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-01-23T17:04:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/specialgathering.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/01\/a-writing-pen.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda G. 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