When I Feel Like A Football
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and too often I am too comfortable.
I get comfortable with certain people who help me in certain ways. And because I live in a wheelchair, I depend on people. But when those people are not around … like my husband goes on a fishing trip or my favorite two get-up girls are out of town? Suddenly, I am out of my comfort zone. It happened recently when Ken Tada left early on a Saturday morning; he left around 5:00 a.m. to go to Montana on a fishing trip. And I was not about to ask my regular get-up girl to arrive at my house that early, so I was alone for those hours until she came later in the morning to get me up. But here’s the thing. She couldn’t stay for long – she had a family commitment. So, I arranged for another friend to come and do a little work with me on the computer until a neighbor came and helped me with dinner. My neighbor was only able to stay until my Saturday night get-down girl arrived to put me to bed. By then, I was so relieved because another friend was scheduled to not only stay overnight that Saturday, but remain with me until Ken Tada arrived home from his fishing trip.
And I will tell you what. I felt a lot like a football that day, being handed off from one person to the next. In fact, when people ask me about those moments in my life when I really, really, really have to trust the Lord, I always talk about times when I’m a football. I’ve got to rely on God in a big way, because these various people – and there are many of them – the people that I have scheduled – they better show up! And me being the football, passed off from one person to the next – man, I hope it’s a smooth handoff, like me, a baton being passed to the next runner: please, please don’t drop me! Please show up; handle me well! But that’s okay. I know God will take care of me. I know that God’s not going to drop me. He will not abandon me or forget me.
And it’s why I love that verse in Malachi chapter 3 where God says, “I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, you’re not destroyed.” Perhaps you are someone who likes to stay in your comfort zones and you do not like change or insecurity. For you, it creates a momentary vertigo, an unsteady feeling of imbalance or maybe a little wave of fear. And you think, “What now? How’s this gonna work out? How will I manage?” Thoughts like these should remind you of Malachi chapter 3. The Lord says He doesn’t change. God’s care and compassion will never change. He will always provide for us – even though it may seem to be in the very nick of time. What’s more, His change in your life may be exactly what you need.
ʼCause when I’m being passed off like a football from one helper to the next, I need that. I need days like that – because they keep refining and strengthening my trust in God. ʼCause I’ll tell you, I’ve got a tendency to hold on to old patterns, old methods of coping. But the Lord, like he says in Isaiah, is constantly doing new things in our lives. Life changes and God’s methods of provisions change, but His care for us and commitment will never change. So, if you feel a little like a football; if you feel as though life might drop out from underneath you, remember the changeless One. He is ageless and His everlasting arms are underneath you. So, leave behind your momentary vertigo and lay aside that little wave of fear. If you know Christ and are abiding in Him, it’ll all work out. And that is your good news for the day.
Contact us at Joniradio.org. That’s a different link to my radio page than you usually hear me say, but it is a lot easier. Joniradio.org. God bless you today, and thanks for listening to Joni and Friends!
© Joni and Friends
Suffering in 3-D: Connecting the Church to Disease, Disability, and Disorder
Suffering in 3-D, by Dr. John Kwasny, is a book to guide and encourage ordinary believers to get practically involved in meaningful relational ministry to all who are suffering. The church is called not merely to tolerate or endure sufferers in its midst, but to welcome, pursue, and embrace them as full members of the body of Christ. As you work through this book, you will be guided and inspired to engage in a holistic and practical ministry to those who suffer with disease, disability, and disorder.
