Yes, this is my first attempt of participating in any kind of meme. What the heck is a meme? Think theme. Every 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month, I will be sharing, along with Tracy Keck @ Seed Thoughts, a meme called “Character Counts,” celebrating people of good character, who’ve overcome adversity, done exceptional things or lived extraordinary lives…A person who decided to make lemonade out of life’s lemons. So the first person immediately coming to my mind is Joni Eareckson Tada. I wrote a small post about her before (Read What a Woman of Faith). She has a persevering spirit that helped me connect more with God and with others. She showed me that relationships are so vital to our own healing. We are actually doing one of her Group Bible Studies in our Chronic Illness Support Group.
Back in 1967, 17- year old Joni Eareckson was swimming in the Chesapeake Bay with her sister when she decided to take a dive off of a raft into water that she thought was deep enough. She was wrong, and when she hit the bottom with her head, the impact crushed her fourth cervical vertebrae. Joni has been a quadriplegic ever since that day.
Try to imagine being only 17 yrs. old, and having your whole world turned upside down. You can’t imagine it. I can’t imagine it. Only somebody who is on the same road knows. From watching her videos, reading her memoirs, I know that when this happened…Joni wanted to die, and I remember her writing and telling us that she asked God… ”Show me how to live like this.”
And He did. Joni is celebrating 30 years of disability ministry! Starting to unknowingly answer the call, Joni pushed deeper into The Word of God, and discovered clues and answers to the many questions disabled people were asking. She didn’t know it at the time, but our God was laying a solid Biblical foundation in Joni’s life—A foundation that would be God’s place of refuse, a Christ-like centered framework for Joni and Friends. Here are some of Joni’s words taken from her 30th anniversary newsletter…
“There is far too much work to be done, and far too many disabled people suffocating under the grip of depression and despair. There are too many unborn infants with disabilities –as well as newborns-who are discarded solely on the basis of their handicap. Too many churches have too little to offer when a marriage begins cracking under the weight of a disability…or those same churches are unable to defend the goodness of God in the midst of pain and suffering. In short, for too long Satan has tried to exploit “disabilities” in order to smear the good name of God. But, friend, by the grace of God you and I will have none of it! I’m so grateful that together we are partnering through Joni and Friends to pronounce the sovereign grace of our wise God over every person with a disability, all to the glory of Jesus Christ!”
“It’s our passion at Joni and Friends. It’s what drove me 30 years ago to start this ministry, and it’s what now compels you and me so many years later. Bless you for helping me shine the glorious light of our great Savior out to the world’s 660 million people with disabilities. Because there’s work to be done; besides, the Lord is doing this great thing “and it is marvelous in our eyes!”
Yes, Joni Eareckson Tada is overcoming adversity by reaching out to others to show them the love of God, and isn’t that what it’s all about? To learn more about Joni, please visit Joni and Friends.
One of the first books I’ve read from Joni is titled, “When God Weeps: Why Our Sufferings Matter to the Almighty.” When I became a Christian, this book was one of the first things God put in front of me. It helped me get a new perspective on suffering with my disability of Muscular Dystrophy. I highly recommend this book to anyone with a disability-no matter what it is. I think it would be also great for anybody who is a caregiver to someone with a disability. You can find it here.