By Susan King
For The Salisbury Post
Do you know what it’s like to have something wonderful happen, and you want to share it with those you love?
That’s why I’m writing this.I want to share with you something amazing that happened on a recent Sunday at church.
Our son, Patrick, was scheduled to sing a solo, a song called “Give Me Jesus.” He had sung it once for his Varsity Chorus solo piece at school. He’s a rising sophomore at South Rowan High School.
I hadn’t heard him practice it for church. I asked him if he wanted to sing it for his dad so David could give him some feedback.
He said, “No thanks. I think I’m OK.”
When he walked up to the front of the church, panic hit me.
I thought, “What if it’s too much for him? What if this isn’t received well?”
Patrick was diagnosed with autism at age 5. At one point, he wasn’t even comfortable around people, let alone getting up in front of a congregation.
All my concerns evaporated as soon as he opened his mouth. It was beautiful, and he sang it so sincerely.
I started crying after just a few words, realizing how far he has come over the years. A lot of people in the congregation were crying.
After Patrick was done singing, a man stood up in the front of the church and started clapping.
Before I knew it, the entire congregation was giving Patrick a standing ovation! Patrick was on his way down the steps when he realized everyone was standing up for him. He stopped, with a shocked look on his face; then, he briefly nodded and went and sat down. It was so sweet!
I will never forget that Sunday.
And there’s something else I will never forget … I remembered it when Patrick was singing. Thirteen years prior, when I was at the Billy Graham Crusade in Charlotte, a woman with a cleft palate explained to me the plan of salvation, and I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.
A short time after that, I had a conversation with the Lord. I told him that I knew nothing happened by accident in his economy, and I was wondering why he had a handicapped person lead me to Christ.
I sensed him telling me, “It’s because of your son. I can use anyone I want to.”
At the time, Patrick was 3 years old. He couldn’t speak. He would bang his head on the floor when he got upset. He constantly flapped his hands in front of his face, wouldn’t make eye contact, and strongly reacted to touch, smells, sounds ó you name it.
I was wondering if he would ever speak. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that he would not only speak, but also be singing about Jesus some day.
Nothing is impossible with God!
I am so grateful to God.
And I am grateful to all of our friends and family, because Patrick would never be able to sing so sincerely about the love of Jesus if he hadn’t experienced it in a real way through all of you.
Thanks for being part of the miracle!

Susan King lives in China Grove with her husband, David, and their four children.