Unlocked

This is the title of a book I just finished reading by Karen Kingsbury. The story is about an 18 year old boy that struggles with autism and how through an old childhood friend and prayer, a series of miracles happen in the life of Holden(the main character)that release him from being locked up in a private, non-verbal world of his own.  Having worked with autistic children for over a year now, I could really relate to this story, and it deeply touched my heart. One of the things the author brought out also was that there are a lot of other ways that people can be “locked up”.  Some are locked up in the quest to be part of the “in” crowd, the pursuit of wealth, the goal of having that perfect figure, etc. etc. As I was reading, the Lord impressed upon my mind the thought that we are all born locked up in the prison of sin. Because of what happened back in the garden of Eden, a sinful nature has been passed down to every person that enters into the world. We are born with a nature that is contrary to God, and unless a change takes place, we will never be able to have a right relationship with Him ,and  we will remained locked up in our own sinful nature.  Through prayer and the patient efforts of a friend, Holden was drawn out of his solitary confinement and brought to a place where he could truly begin to communicate and having meaningful relationships with others. What a blessing it is to have a God who seeks to woo us and win us to a wonderful relationship with Him. He uses so many little things to try and get our attention  and to bring us to the place where we can repent and turn our hearts toward Him- the beauty of creation, circumstances of life, preaching and teaching of His Word(if we’ll choose to listen), kindness when we don’t deserve it and most of all prayer. 

I shudder to think of where I would be if someone had not been praying for me and if someone had not reached out to me in love and shared the gospel. I could have committed suicide and died lost, because there was a time in my life when I considered suicide as a way to end the emotional pain that engulfed me. Reading Unlocked has left me with 2 desires. As far as my job goes, I want to pray more and reach out more to the families with whom I am working. While I believe ABA is helpful in working with autistic children, it is ultimately God that can open the door for these kids to communicate and have healthy relationships with family and friends. As a Christian, I want to pray more for the people in my life that don’t know God and may or may not realize that they are locked up in a spiritual prison. While I can be kind to people and do my best to share the gospel with them, my efforts will fall short if I don’t earnestly pray, for I know that without Him, I can do nothing. (John 15:5)

Dear Lord, please let 2011 be the year of unlocked doors.

Luke 4:18

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,