{"id":3314,"date":"2012-12-05T16:35:18","date_gmt":"2012-12-05T21:35:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=3314"},"modified":"2012-12-05T16:35:18","modified_gmt":"2012-12-05T21:35:18","slug":"the-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/12\/the-star.html","title":{"rendered":"The Star"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Christmas<\/a>As Pastor Iman passed Eric who paced back and forth at the back of the room, the pastor asked the young man, \u201cWhat part do have in the play?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m the star,\u201d Eric said, scratching his head and facing the inquiring man.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, that\u2019s great but what is your part?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Christmas<\/a>\u201cI\u2019m the star,\u201d Eric repeated, patiently.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know you are the star; but what is the part you are playing tonight?\u201d<\/p>\n

Eric\u2019s autism kicked in as he nervously hit the air with his fist and said, \u201cI told you. \u00a0I\u2019m the star.\u201d<\/p>\n

Realizing that Eric\u2019s patience was gone, the interested Pastor walked away, still wondering what part Eric was playing in our annual Christmas play.<\/p>\n

Sunday evening, The Special Gathering of Melbourne had our annual play and cantata. \u00a0\u201dA Florida Christmas\u201d is a playful enactment of the Christmas events of 2000 years ago. \u00a0One song brings tears to those of us who have learned the music. \u00a0Nevertheless, \u00a0most of the music and the play is joyfully planned to be fun.<\/p>\n

\"Christmas<\/a>While the song that introduces the wise men was sung, Eric\u2019s part was to carry the star guiding the wise men to the Savior. \u00a0As he had reported to the inquiring pastor, Eric was the star.<\/p>\n

After the performance, Pastor Inman came to me laughing about his mistake.<\/p>\n

There are times that all of us are misunderstood when we are trying to communicate the best we can. \u00a0However, we must continue to repeat the facts. \u00a0We are called to teach and share the good news of Jesus and his love. \u00a0His mercy and grace are free gifts and that is the story of Christmas. \u00a0Even though others may not be able to understand that simple message, it does not diminish the truth of our Savior\u2019s sacrifice. \u00a0After all, Jonathan Smith correctly penned in one of the song that we sang this year, \u201cI\u2019m not one to second guess what angels have to say, but this is such a strange way to save the world.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As Pastor Iman passed Eric who paced back and forth at the back of the room, the pastor asked the young man, \u201cWhat part do have in the play?\u201d \u201cI\u2019m the star,\u201d Eric said, scratching his head and facing the inquiring man. \u201cOh, that\u2019s great but what is your part?\u201d \u201cI\u2019m the star,\u201d Eric repeated,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,5,334,464,20,3,40,186,49,16,8,4,41],"tags":[690,21,688,739,696,7,699,715,701,694,689,6,700],"class_list":["post-3314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-autism-spectrum","category-christianity","category-christmas","category-christmas-play","category-church","category-developmental-disabilities","category-faith","category-hope","category-inspiration","category-intellectual-disability","category-mentally-challenged-community","category-simple-truths","category-spirituality","tag-autism-spectrum","tag-christian","tag-christianity","tag-christmas","tag-church","tag-developmental-disabilities-2","tag-faith","tag-hope","tag-inspiration","tag-intellectual-disability","tag-mentally-challenged-community","tag-simple-scriptural-truths","tag-spirituality"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Star - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Star - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As Pastor Iman passed Eric who paced back and forth at the back of the room, the pastor asked the young man, \u201cWhat part do have in the play?\u201d \u201cI\u2019m the star,\u201d Eric said, scratching his head and facing the inquiring man. \u201cOh, that\u2019s great but what is your part?\u201d \u201cI\u2019m the star,\u201d Eric repeated,…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/12\/the-star.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-12-05T21:35:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/specialgathering.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/12\/christmas-tree.jpg?w=126&h=92\" \/>\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":"The Star - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"nofollow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Star - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","og_description":"As Pastor Iman passed Eric who paced back and forth at the back of the room, the pastor asked the young man, \u201cWhat part do have in the play?\u201d \u201cI\u2019m the star,\u201d Eric said, scratching his head and facing the inquiring man. \u201cOh, that\u2019s great but what is your part?\u201d \u201cI\u2019m the star,\u201d Eric repeated,…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/12\/the-star.html","og_site_name":"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","article_published_time":"2012-12-05T21:35:18+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/specialgathering.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/12\/christmas-tree.jpg?w=126&h=92"}],"author":"Linda G. 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