THE PRAYERS OF A RIGHTEOUS MAN

L.D. Simmons played a significant role in Providence Academy history. In light of his recent passing, our development director, Mark Koscak, shares L.D.'s story. We desire to celebrate his life, his integrity, and his faith in God. L.D. leaves behind his dear wife, Janie.

I can’t help but recount one of my favorite God stories about Providence Academy. I have told this story over and over. L.D. had a sister named Patsy. One day, years ago, they met with Jerry Williams, the Head of School, and a couple of board members at Mountain View Baptist Church to discuss why they wanted to purchase the 30 acres on Carroll Creek Road. As I understand the story, L.D. was unusually quiet that day, and his sister, Patsy, led the conversation. Some of the questions included, “What is a Christ-centered school? What is a classical school? What is a discipleship model school?” and then after learning about the vision for the 30 acres, she started crying. Patsy said, “This is it! This is what God wants me to do; however, I need to leave right now. My plane is leaving shortly; but rest assured, we are going to make this deal. My mother was a teacher, and this is what she would want me to do."

A couple of days after the meeting at Mountain View Baptist Church, Patsy was killed in a car accident, and it was a shock to all. At that point, Jerry Williams and the board thought that they would need to look for another location to build Providence Academy. However, this is where L.D. stepped in and did God’s work. He coordinated the family and arranged for the sale to be made so that generations of students could receive a Christ-centered and classical education. L.D. felt strongly, just as Patsy felt strongly, that his mother would have wanted them to sell this land so that it could be used to bless students, and we are glad to have a plaque near the entrance honoring Mary Simmons. Years later, he explained to me how God had already been working in the background to provide for Providence Academy. No one realized in that meeting that he owned 10 of the 30 acres of land and had been praying for five years that whoever they sold the 10 acres to would be able to use it to bless children.

So, at that point I understood why L.D. was so uncharacteristically quiet that day in the meeting at Providence Academy. L.D. was quiet because he saw the hand of God moving to answer the prayers that he and Janie had prayed together for five years!

God is good. God allows us to be part of His plans, and this story is an example of God using L.D. to implement His plans. God’s Word says, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16b KJV). This story is a wonderful testimony to the way God hears and answers our prayers.

We praise God for L.D. We celebrate his entrance into heaven, and we appreciate the effective, fervent prayers of a man and his wife that led to the blessing of generations of students!