By Michaela Gordoni
Joni Eareckson Tada became paralyzed after she dove into a lake when she was 17 — a moment a young boy asked her to reflect on last month.
“A homeschool group came and toured our Johnny and Friends headquarters, and I got a chance to speak to them…,” Tada said. “There was a time for questions, and one little boy, his name was Austin, he raised his hand and asked, ‘If you could go back and tell your 17-year-old self not to take that dive, Mrs. Joni, would you tell her that?”
“What a great question. And I said, ‘Austin, I don’t think I could have said to 17-year-old Joni, knowing what I know now, I’ll go ahead and take that dive,’” she said. “I just couldn’t bear the thought of that 17-year-old having to go through all of this again.”
Related: How God Turned Joni Eareckson Tada’s Setback into Life’s Greatest Gift
She doesn’t think her 17-year-old self would have been selfless.
“When, if I did tell her to take that awful dive, I could just see that that 17-year-old, she would say, ‘Are you telling me that if I go ahead and take this dive and break my neck that God is going to use it to start a global ministry to disable people? You know, that’s nice, but no thank you. I’d rather really keep use of my hands and my legs.'”
Tada started a worldwide ministry for differently abled people called Joni and Friends. The organization has helped thousands.
“Frankly, I think anyone, even you, would not trade walking for a wheelchair, which tells me that during the nearly 60 years of living with quadriplegia, it’s been God living through me,” she said. “It had to be God who has gotten me through all this. 1 Corinthians 15:10 says, ‘But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his grace on me. It was not I, but God who was working through me by his grace.’”
Earlier this month, Tada shared that she “sings her way through suffering.” She was inspired to do so after reading Matthew. When Jesus was betrayed, Jesus sang a hymn with his disciples.
“When He was led away to His death, He had a hymn in His heart,” she said. “Jesus is such a good model for how I can approach my own suffering.”
In another post, she shared, “…Faith doesn’t come from comfort. It comes from meeting Christ in the darkest places, when the pain is real, the body is weak, and you’re desperate for strength you don’t have on your own.”
“If you’re walking through suffering right now, don’t hear this as a quick fix. Hear it as an invitation: Jesus is not far from you. He may be doing something deeper than you can see, drawing you into fellowship with Him,” she said.
Tada’s faith is so strong and inspirational. Thank God for her insight, ministry and heart for others!
Read Next: How Joni Eareckson Tada Overcame Fear
Questions or comments? Please write to us here.
– Content: +1Share:
– Content: +1