God’s Power in Weakness—A Message from Joni Eareckson Tada
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When a broken neck upended my life 55 years ago, leaving me depressed and devastated, the last people I wanted to be around were wheelchair users like me.
They made me feel awkward and so I basically ignored anyone with a disabling condition. Imagine my amazement when a little over a decade later, God used my own affliction to birth an international disability ministry.
Somewhere within that decade, I rose above my fears of the future, depression, and my disdain for others with disabilities.
God transformed my heart, changed my attitude, and showed me that there are more important things in life than walking.
I couldn’t wait to tell others with chronic conditions what he had done. It’s why I started Joni and Friends in 1979. I knew there were countless thousands who, like me, were struggling with the same resentments and fears about their disabilities. I pulled together a team of like-hearted friends who, like me, wanted to do everything they could to make Christ real to people with disabilities around the world.
It’s the noble cause of Christ to which I’ve dedicated myself for decades and I can’t think of anything that gives me more joy. Even as I get older. Yet as I reach the milestone of 55 years of quadriplegia—not to mention surviving two bouts of cancer, severe breathing issues, coronavirus, and chronic pain—I hold tightly to Acts 20:24 for,
“I consider my life worth nothing to me except that I finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me – the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.”
Aging with quadriplegia may be filled with extra challenges, but it doesn’t demoralize me. Instead, I hold everything lightly. I don’t grasp at my fragile life, and I certainly don’t coddle it or minimize my activities at Joni and Friends just because I am getting older, growing weaker, and dealing with more pain. Rather, I find great comfort and joy in ‘dying to self’ and living every day to serve the Lord Jesus and others around the world whose disabilities are far more profound than mine.
I live to serve. What else could be more important than practicing Christianity with its sleeves rolled up among the needy?
When I do become tired, I’m inspired by the life of Jesus who, even as he was impaled on his cross and in great pain, nevertheless kept serving others (the thief on the cross, the needs of his mother, and the soldiers who needed forgiveness). Ephesians 5:1 tells me to imitate him. And so, I am heaven-bent on honoring my Jesus, serving others, finishing the race, and completing the task of testifying to the Gospel of grace.
Multiple Milestones
I sometimes wonder, “Who am I, God, that you have brought me this far?!” Lately, I’ve been whispering that question from 1 Chronicles 17:16. Who am I to enjoy a platform on national radio for 40 years? Who am I that I should be so blessed in a marriage with Ken for 40 years? And how did I ever have the strength to survive 55 years as a quadriplegic in a wheelchair?
Truth is, I do not have the strength. I still wake up every morning needing God desperately. I am like David who often confessed to the Lord, “I am weak and needy” (Psalm 40:17). Perhaps that’s how God brought me this far. I cannot say, but I do know that “the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him” (2 Chronicles 16:9). God is searching high and low for weak people who love him so that that he can pour into them, his strength. Maybe that’s my story but how I arrived here is not for me to say – I just keep praising my sovereign God with every milestone I pass.
And with this amazing anniversary marking 55 years in my wheelchair, I am reflecting on more than a few milestones through which God has done amazing things!
Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
I landed in a wheelchair at a time when there was very little access for people using mobility equipment. Back in the 1970s I would arrive at a restaurant, only to be told to wheel down an alley, past smelly dumpsters, and into a side door that led through a crowded, noisy kitchen, in order to reach my dining table.
I remember getting stuck in a boutique dressing room while trying on clothes. My wheelchair had become wedged tightly between the swinging door and the wall, and the store manager had to come and jerk me free. My wheelchair left scuff marks all over the dressing room and I was terribly embarrassed. That was the way things were in the early 70s, before the Americans with Disabilities Act.
With each passing year, I racked up more embarrassing incidents of being stranded, getting stuck, and navigating long, winding detours in order to get into movie theaters, restaurants, churches, and stores. Finally, I had my fill of embarrassing episodes. I began to actively advocate for myself and others with disabilities.
In the late 1980s, I somehow landed a position on the National Council on Disability under President Reagan. One of the first initiatives our Council tackled was lack of access in public places. Working with other disability groups, we were able to send to Congress a landmark bill to improve access for Americans with disabilities.
Finally, in 1990, I sat on the White House lawn with other Council members and watched President Bush sign into law the Americans with Disabilities Act.
I don’t often think about those days I served on the National Council on Disability. However, during a recent vacation in Yosemite National Park, Ken and I noticed that everywhere we went, the paths were paved and marked with access symbols. I was pleasantly surprised to discover miles of trails that I could wander. And for those who places I couldn’t wheel, there were accessible trams.
At one point while wheeling along the Yosemite Valley floor, I stopped to reflect tearfully on the days when I would make my way through dark alleys and back doors. That was then. And now? Virtually the whole national parks system is open to me. This month marks the 32nd anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act into law. And I thank God that he used my wheelchair so many years ago to help bring it about.
Beyond Advocacy: A Vision for Belonging
Of course, people living with disabilities need more than just smooth sidewalks, lowered drinking fountains, and exit ramps. Here in the U.S., laws enforcing accessibility standards are helpful, but they cannot deliver the sense of ‘belonging’ that disabled people so often lack. Nearly one quarter of a century has passed since the ADA and still, people with disabilities find themselves isolated and marginalized.
A higher law than the ADA is needed.
Jesus tells us in Luke 14:13 to, “Invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed.”
At Joni and Friends, we take this directive to heart. We envision a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ.
It’s a God-sized vision; and by his grace, my coworkers and I are doing our part to make it a reality, one day at a time.
Here in the U.S. we hold Family Retreats where special needs parents receive much-needed respite and whole families discover that they belong, not just within a community that understands them, but in the Body of Christ.
We are mindful of the thousands of Veterans who have returned from war struggling with physical wounds, moral injuries, and PTSD. So, we hold Warrior Getaways for these brave servicemen and women and their families. We are also aware of the desperate needs in communities like East St. Louis, Nashville, and Downtown Los Angeles. We are growing our programs and resourcing churches in the cities to bring people with disabilities into the fold…into God’s house.
Global Reach for a Global Need
My heart breaks when I think of the one billion disabled people around the world, most of whom live in poverty and with little hope of things changing. They feel forgotten by their communities. But Jesus hasn’t forgotten them.
In developing nations around the world, we are distributing wheelchairs and Bibles through our Wheels for the World outreach.
We’ve created Joni’s House; that is, disability centers where we offer occupational therapy, provide medical supplies, hold Bible studies and discipleship programs, conduct job skills training, offer wheelchair maintenance, and more. We even partner with local hospitals to provide wound care, surgical support, and physical therapy.
At Joni’s House, we “prove” the power of the salvation message with evidence of Christ-centered compassion. And I’m honored that our leadership and staff chose to call these centers Joni’s House –to have my name “on the front door” is such a privilege!
Serving the Most Vulnerable in Ukraine
We were about to break ground on a new Joni’s House in Ukraine when the war erupted in February. As Russian bombs dropped on Ukraine, disabled people became stranded in harm’s way. So we started serving Ukrainians with disabilities, only not in the way we had originally planned.
Our Joni and Friends’ in-country coordinator, Galyna, began organizing evacuation efforts, even as Russia stepped up its rocket strikes. Galyna, supported by her network of churches and Joni and Friends partners in Poland, worked tirelessly and courageously to track down people with disabilities and evacuate the most vulnerable among them—hundreds, to date.
Now, even as Ukraine gets fewer headlines, Galyna and members of the Joni and Friends network continue to provide housing and food supplies for Ukrainians with disabilities. We are even planning a Family Retreat later this summer for relocated Ukrainians with disabilities and their caregivers!
Heaven-Bent
From the dark basements in Ukraine, to the foothills of the Himalayas, to the streets of downtown Los Angeles, people with disabilities are suffering unspeakably.
Their needs are urgent, and so I am running (or I should say, wheeling) the race that the Lord Jesus has set before me. There are too many people struggling as I once did, 55 years ago when I crushed my spinal cord and became a quadriplegic. But no one is beyond the reach of our mighty Savior.
So in the days to come, you will find me running the race with renewed vigor. Given the countless thousands who have yet to hear the astounding message of salvation in Jesus Christ, we are answering the call of Christ to,
“Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full”
Luke 14:23
So get engaged, be inspired, and join the movement…for we won’t stop until God’s house is full!
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