“Idle hands are the devil’s workshop; idle lips are his mouthpiece.” Proverbs 16:27 The Living Bible

I am a husband and father of a daughter and son. Our family has always attended church. Both of our children were dedicated as babies. My wife Emily and I have always served in church and have always felt unconditional love from other church members.  My son Ethan was diagnosed with autism when he was three years old. Our church loved him the same as any other child, as if he were their own. This was all too easy because he is so handsome, has the greatest smile, and is very easy to please—especially if you have a toy or noisemaker in your hand.  

Between the ages of 3 and 7, my son grew rapidly in appearance, but was not very verbal and could not engage in the children’s church’s curriculum. To no one’s fault, Ethan was not getting the same spiritual feeding that the rest of our family was getting. Also during this time, I noticed myself pulling away from ministries in the church. If I’m honest, I wasn’t quite excited that there was nothing geared towards my son with special needs. This was probably why I started to idle.  In comes an invitation from Ethan’s teacher to an Easter egg hunt designed specifically for kids having special needs. WHAT? I never had a clue there was such a thing. It was almost three years ago since we attended the egg hunt at our current church. It was amazing! No massive crowd of kids rushing and bumping to get the most eggs. My Ethan doesn’t care if he gets one or 20 as long as he gets to do it his way and at his own pace. There was one child in a wheelchair with a wand that had a magnet on the end so he could get magnetic eggs from his chair. Wow, my mind was blown! I was sold on this church for this one reason. 

Fast forward a few months later, my wife and I made the decision to put our child’s needs before our own and switch to the church that held the specialized Easter egg hunt. We thought we were changing churches for Ethan’s needs until some time later. Emily and I started serving in our new church and our daughter Madison performed in the Christmas production. I started attending the monthly men’s breakfasts.  Ethan, now nine years old, loves the layout of the special needs ministry. It was the first time he had experienced a sensory room or a trampoline to bounce on in a gross motor room at church. And just like before, everyone fell in love with him.  

Our daughter loves youth group and my wife and I are volunteer leaders on Sunday and Wednesdays. Our family is currently at everything church related.  You name it. Youth events, sporting events, men’s events, staff events, community events, and business meetings—someone from our family is there. We also attend many public school events to stay connected with our youth kids.  I’ve learned recently that you can always see God in the hindsight. We made a tough decision that took months to consider for the sake of our son having special needs. This decision superseded our spiritual comfort and idleness. It was the best decision for Ethan, but it’s been a blessing for all of us!