God Always Leads the Way

Three years later, we moved back home, and by then there was a program in place for children with autism.

Others who helped Dan also stand out in my mind: Ginny Marohn, a music teacher who came every week for 15 years to teach Dan to play the piano; the wife of our scout master, Karol McCormick, who went to the Boy Scout Board and insisted Dan be in the scouts; and Pastor John Wiens, who allowed Dan to attend the two-year confirmation program, even though he knew there were some aspects of the program that would be beyond Dan’s grasp.

Living with autism

Dan held a job for 12 years at a nursing home, where his job responsibilities included mopping the floors and washing dishes, and he loved it. One of his bosses once told me that Dan would come to work every day and thank her for letting him work there that day.

Five years ago, Dan and I left the church we had attended for some 20 years to join College Church in Wheaton, Illinois, where there is a wonderful program for people with disabilities. In fact, the disabled are an important part of the church family, and because of that, Dan has had the opportunity to do things I never thought I would see him do.

He has sung solos in our worship services, played the autoharp and chimes, and he has been the narrator for Christmas programs – all because of a church that practices what it preaches, and preaches what it believes.

I’m thankful to God for giving me a wonderful son, and also for putting so many thoughtful, caring people into Dan’s life – and mine.

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