{"id":2615,"date":"2012-04-27T05:36:59","date_gmt":"2012-04-27T09:36:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=2615"},"modified":"2012-04-28T09:39:59","modified_gmt":"2012-04-28T13:39:59","slug":"remembering-renee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/04\/remembering-renee.html","title":{"rendered":"Remembering Renee"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>There are two stories in the Bible that have fascinated me all my life.\u00a0 The first is a parable that Jesus told.\u00a0 It is the story of a merchant who found an extremely valuable pearl.\u00a0 After finding this magnificent pearl, he went and sold everything he had to purchase it. I was always taught that the pearl was the kingdom for God and that when we find this great pearl, we must give up everything to purchase this great pearl.\u00a0 I wanted to be like that wise merchant and give everything to the Lord.<\/p>\n

Then many years later, during my prayer time, the Lord spoke to my heart in a still small voice and said, \u201cLinda, you are that pearl and I gave up everything to purchase you.\u201d\u00a0 During the past week, each time I think about Grace Renee, the Lord reminds me of the pearl of great price.\u00a0 Again, the Lord has spoken to me, \u201cI\u2019ve brought my magnificent pearl, Grace Renee, home.<\/p>\n

When Cindy, an ARC staff person, came into Special Gathering last Saturday, she pulled me aside.\u00a0 At first, I was hesitant to be drawn away from eye and ear contact of the group, even though there was another volunteer in the room.\u00a0 However, when it became apparent that something really bad had happened, we walked a distance away from the room and Cindy tearfully shared that \u201csomething is wrong with Renee.\u201d\u00a0 She didn\u2019t know what had happened but she felt that perhaps, as Renee\u2019s pastor, I could find out.<\/p>\n

\u201cRenee is very special to me,\u201d she said.\u00a0 Over the past two weeks, as I spoke with people who knew Renee they repeated often, \u201cRenee was very special to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Until you\u2019ve been drawn into our community, it might be confusing to understand how an individual like Renee can steal your heart.\u00a0 How can Renee\u2019s suffering wrench your heart until you believe it will break?\u00a0 Yet, Renee\u2019s love and joy was a magnet for those of us who knew and loved her.\u00a0 Joanne Semenuck knew her when she was in school.\u00a0 She said, \u201cShe was the happiest young woman I ever met.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lorraine, one of the five residents in her home, said, \u201cI love Renee.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t want her to go away and leave us.\u201d\u00a0 Everyone in the home said, \u201cWe are a family.\u00a0 Renee is our family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bessie Mariner, her support coordinatior, told me, \u201cAlmost every time I met with Renee she blessed me by praying for me.\u00a0 She loved to pray.\u00a0 I know that she knew the Lord in a powerful way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Small things about Renee were most endearing, like the quirky way she could sneak to get her way.\u00a0 You didn\u2019t know whether to scold her or hug her.\u00a0 When one trick no longer worked, she would devise a different tactic to snare you into getting her way.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Renee also reminded me of a second story from the Bible.\u00a0 This story is true.\u00a0 In the last week of Jesus\u2019 life, a woman came and washed Jesus\u2019 feet with her tears and wiped them dry with her hair.\u00a0 Because of the dry, dirty conditions in Judea; and because everyone wore sandals, it was a custom to wash everyone\u2019s feet as they entered a home.\u00a0 But the host had neglected to do that for Jesus.\u00a0 When this woman washed Jesus\u2019 feet, it was a blessing that she could uniquely give him.\u00a0 It was a splendid and deeply personal gift of love.\u00a0 I believe that Renee often showed her love for the Lord in deeply personal ways and that love spilled out onto us.<\/p>\n

Yes, we will miss Renee but mostly we will miss the times she washed away the concerns of the day with her antics and joy.\u00a0 We will miss the way she reached down and personally knew what we needed; and without a word, her touch and smile helped to meet that need.<\/p>\n

She was perhaps one of the weakest among us; but in so many ways, she was able to show us the Lord\u2019s strength and power.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the people who trust the Lord will become strong again. They will rise up as an eagle in the sky; they will run and not need rest; they will walk and not become tired.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Life is replaced with death.\u00a0 Death is replaced by eternal life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are two stories in the Bible that have fascinated me all my life.\u00a0 The first is a parable that Jesus told.\u00a0 It is the story of a merchant who found an extremely valuable pearl.\u00a0 After finding this magnificent pearl, he went and sold everything he had to purchase it. I was always taught that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,3,40,186,49,16,4,41],"tags":[690,21,688,14,7,699,715,701,694,700],"class_list":["post-2615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-developmental-disabilities","category-faith","category-hope","category-inspiration","category-intellectual-disability","category-simple-truths","category-spirituality","tag-autism-spectrum","tag-christian","tag-christianity","tag-death-and-dying","tag-developmental-disabilities-2","tag-faith","tag-hope","tag-inspiration","tag-intellectual-disability","tag-spirituality"],"yoast_head":"\nRemembering Renee - 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\/04\/remembering-renee.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Remembering Renee - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There are two stories in the Bible that have fascinated me all my life.\u00a0 The first is a parable that Jesus told.\u00a0 It is the story of a merchant who found an extremely valuable pearl.\u00a0 After finding this magnificent pearl, he went and sold everything he had to purchase it. I was always taught that…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/04\/remembering-renee.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-04-27T09:36:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-04-28T13:39:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/specialgathering.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/04\/pearls.jpg?w=300\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda G. Howard\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Remembering Renee - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/04\/remembering-renee.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Remembering Renee - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","og_description":"There are two stories in the Bible that have fascinated me all my life.\u00a0 The first is a parable that Jesus told.\u00a0 It is the story of a merchant who found an extremely valuable pearl.\u00a0 After finding this magnificent pearl, he went and sold everything he had to purchase it. I was always taught that…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/04\/remembering-renee.html","og_site_name":"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","article_published_time":"2012-04-27T09:36:59+00:00","article_modified_time":"2012-04-28T13:39:59+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/specialgathering.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/04\/pearls.jpg?w=300"}],"author":"Linda G. Howard","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/04\/remembering-renee.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/04\/remembering-renee.html","name":"Remembering Renee - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/04\/remembering-renee.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/04\/remembering-renee.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/specialgathering.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/04\/pearls.jpg?w=300","datePublished":"2012-04-27T09:36:59+00:00","dateModified":"2012-04-28T13:39:59+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/#\/schema\/person\/a10d3530d8432a656d648135fe6da739"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/04\/remembering-renee.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/04\/remembering-renee.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/04\/remembering-renee.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/specialgathering.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/04\/pearls.jpg?w=300","contentUrl":"http:\/\/specialgathering.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/04\/pearls.jpg?w=300"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/04\/remembering-renee.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Remembering Renee"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/","name":"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","description":"Beliefnet Voices - Linda Howard","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/#\/schema\/person\/a10d3530d8432a656d648135fe6da739","name":"Linda G. Howard","description":"Linda G. Howard is the best-selling and award-winning author of four books, including MOTHERS ARE PEOPLE, TOO and THE SECRET LIFE OF A HOUSEWIFE. Currently, she serves as area director of The Special Gathering, a ministry within the mentally challenged community. Additionally, she is the co-publisher and editor of CONNECTING POINT, the ministry newsletter. Her husband is a retired aerospace technologist who worked for NASA. They have three children and four grandchildren.","sameAs":["http:\/\/specialgathering.wordpress.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/author\/lhoward"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/387"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2615"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2615\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2617,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2615\/revisions\/2617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}