Our 30 year-old son Ben is autistic along with several other behavioral diagnoses.  To say he has been a challenge is an understatement.  To say that God has been faithful every step of the way is absolute truth.  Through the good and the bad, Ben has been a blessing.  Parenthood is nothing like we expected or dreamed of but isn’t that true for every parent?  We treasure every good memory and examine the not so good ones for evidence of what God wants to teach us.  The lessons have been difficult, but I wouldn’t trade the growth that each one brings for anything.

Ben resides in a group home and makes frequent visits to stay with us.  This past visit was not one of our best, but we witnessed God answer prayer when his behavior escalated beyond our being able to reason with him.  A new day brought the calm we needed in order to make the trip back to his residence.

During the trip, I was playing a portion of a Billy Graham sermon.  With curiosity, Ben leaned forward from the back seat to see who this man was preaching in black and white on my phone screen. He was spellbound. Sirius radio has a station playing Graham’s sermons non-stop.  We decided to listen to it for the remainder of the ride.

From the back seat, I could hear Ben saying, “That’s right and yep.”  I smiled and prayed the message of this great evangelist and man of God was touching Ben’s heart. At the age of nine, Ben accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior. He is saved, praise God! However, for years now he has strongly resisted going to church.

The anointing on the sermons of Billy Graham even after his death is evident. The reactions from Ben were proof that God is still using those sermons in a great way. Ben needed us to help him with some settings on his television before we we headed out.  Wouldn’t you know when we turned on the television Billy Graham was there preaching on the screen. Ben was so excited.  I am praying this channel provides many of those powerful messages.

What hard evidence of God’s presence, power and love in the world today as he speaks to our son through the inspired words of a man used by God to change the world for Christ. Those words still tear through sin, hardened hearts and, yes, autism. Thank you Jesus!  To God Be the Glory!