The Lord’s Perfect Will

I have been a Christian for many years, and the Lord has always provided for me and taken care of me. I would like to tell you of a specific instance of the Lord’s care and how His perfect will always works for the good of those who love Him. (Romans 8:28)

I was an accountant for a construction company in South Florida in 1975. There was great real estate speculation in condominium apartments at that time. When the economy slowed and the bubble burst, I was without a job. I, along with my wife and my four year-old son, ended up in Tallahassee, Florida. Tallahassee is over four hundred miles from South Florida. Actually, Pat found a job. I was a “house husband” for a year. This was a frustrating, yet precious, time for me. I had no job but got to spend lots of time with Adam, our only child. Our son was the most important thing in the world to Pat and me.

We were in Tallahassee for several years and worked at a variety of jobs, always trying to improve our situation. I worked as an accountant and Pat was the business manager of a private school. This school was very specialized and was the only school within a three-hundred mile radius that dealt with this specialty. Parents would board their children with other parents in Tallahassee in order for their children to attend this school. We kept a young man from Ocala, Florida for this purpose.

Adam was in the sixth grade at a public school, and one day the teacher called Pat. She told Pat that Adam had stopped trying at classwork. He had “checked out.” We knew that Adam was a smart child. He had started reading at an early age. We did not understand.

Pat talked to Dr. Hardman at the school where she worked. Dr. Hardman suggested a battery of tests for Adam. The tests showed that our eleven year-old son had math concepts of a twenty year-old. He did well in other areas, also. The tests also showed that he had several of the twenty-five characteristics of dyslexia. Dr. Hardman was able to explain things that we had observed, but had not understood, since Adam was in kindergarten.

As a sidebar, dyslexics are of above average intelligence. Albert Einstein was dyslexic. Because this condition in young people is seldom recognized, they “drop out,” just as Adam was prepared to do. These drop outs innately know that they are capable of more, but our education system as a whole does not recognize dyslexia. It is estimated that ten to fifteen percent of our general population is dyslexic, and when not addressed, eighty-five percent become adult illiterates and are often incarcerated. How thankful I am that Adam’s dyslexia was recognized and remediated.

The Lord moved us from South Florida to Tallahassee. When the timing was right, the Lord showed us why we were in Tallahassee, four-hundred miles from our family. It was not a coincidence that Pat worked at this very unique school - the only school within a three-hundred mile radius that understood and could deal with our son’s dyslexia. Public schools had Special Education programs, but these programs did not show the dyslexic how to compensate for dyslexia. Adam attended the private school for several years, and was able to return to the public school system as a senior, graduate with academic honors, and earn a college scholarship.

The Lord’s Will is perfect. I praise His name for taking care of my son. We have been in North Carolina for three years. We moved here to be near our son and his family. Someday, we will understand why we were moved here. Until then, I will praise the Lord for His direction and perfect will.

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