By Michaela Gordoni
Joni Eareckson Tada was just a teenager when she became paralyzed, but she learned so much through her experience.
“I hit the sandy bottom, and it snapped my head back and crushed my fourth cervical vertebrae and severed my spinal cord…I was just facedown in the water, paralyzed, unable to move, hoping that my sister Kathy had noticed I hadn’t surfaced from my dive,” Eareckson Tada said on an episode of PRAISE on TBN. “And so, for 57 years, I’ve been relying on God, and I’ve got that patience.”
Living as a quadriplegic has given her strong perseverance and courage.
“Doesn’t come from me, does it…? It comes from the Lord Jesus. Without him, I’d be nothing,” she said.
“I’d be burnt toast. I’d be gone in a nanosecond,” she continued. “I would have drowned in that water.”
She explained that God has been “generous” to her. Her biggest tragedy became her biggest blessing — “God’s greatest use.”
Though Erickson Tada is greatly physically limited, she’s still done so much with her life. She started an organization, Joni and Friends, that helps differently abled people and their families all around the world. She also sings and paints. She did Movieguide® the honor of singing at the Movieguide® Awards Gala in 2013.
On July 3, Eareckson Tada celebrated 43 years of marriage to her husband, Ken. She remarked that many people doubted them and that Ken, an able-bodied man, would stick with Tada and love and care for her. They did have some tough early years together, but they remained dedicated, steadfast and truly in love with each other.
“Each anniversary for Ken Tada and me is a blessed milestone. We can honestly say, ‘Thus far the Lord has helped us,’ like the prophet said in 1 Samuel 7 after winning a battle everyone else thought they would lose God pulled his people through,” she said.
She shared her favorite moment from her favorite wedding anniversary — they were in Sicily, and it was stifling hot. Eareckson Tada, fully clothed, thought she was going to faint from the heat. They stopped their car, and Ken scooped her up and ran into the sea with her to cool her off.
Related: Joni Eareckson Tada Says ‘Disability is Not a Curse’: All are ‘Image Bearers’ of God
“That was perhaps the most romantic thing you did in Sicily,” she told him in an Instagram video. Many viewers wished them a happy anniversary in the comments.
Eareckson Tada is dearly loved by God, her husband and her many supporters around the world. What a blessed life she has!
Read Next: Joni Eareckson Tada Explains How God ‘Had a Purpose’ for Her Paralysis
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