The Least of TheseSample

Wounded healer - Joni Eareckson Tada

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities. the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5

Jesus delivered us through His piercing, crushing, and crucifixion. With inspiration from these verses and a thankful heart, Joni Eareckson Tada used her disability as a launching pad for amazing ministry.

Joni was born in 1949 in Baltimore, Maryland. Joni was named after her father, John Eareckson, so her name is pronounced like "Johnny." Her father participated in the 1932 Summer Olympics as an alternate for the United States wrestling team and was honored as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in 1996.

Following the example of her parents, Joni lived a very active life all through her growing-up years, enjoying riding horses, hiking, tennis, and swimming. On July 30, 1967, when she was 17 years old, she dove into the Chesapeake Bay after misjudging the shallowness of the water. She suffered a fracture between the fourth and fifth cervical vertebrae and became a quadriplegic (or tetraplegic), paralyzed from the shoulders down. During Tada's two years of rehabilitation, according to her autobiography “Joni,” she experienced anger, depression, suicidal thoughts, and religious doubts.

We can easily think, “Poor Joni,” not fair at all! But in God’s kingdom, the world’s ways are upside down. 2 Timothy 2:11-12 says,

If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him.

Joni learned to surrender everything to God, and her joy returned. She learned to paint with a brush between her teeth and began selling her artwork. She also writes this way, although she relies on voice recognition software for most writing tasks. To date, she has written over forty books, recorded several musical albums, starred in an autobiographical movie of her life, and is an advocate for people with disabilities.

She founded Joni and Friends in 1979, an organization to "accelerate Christian ministry in the disability community" throughout the world.

Joni and Friends programs include Family Retreats (a camp/retreat experience for families affected by disability), Wounded Warrior Getaways (which offer a similar experience for families of Wounded Warriors), and Wheels for the World, which collects manual wheelchairs and other mobility devices to be refurbished by volunteers in prison restoration shops, then shipped overseas, where physical therapists fit the wheelchairs to people in developing nations.

Joni married Ken Tada in 1982, then a high school history teacher and coach.

Joni sang "Alone Yet Not Alone" (music by Bruce Broughton, lyrics by Dennis Spiegel) for the film of the same name. With limited lung capacity due to her disability, Joni had her husband, Ken, push on her diaphragm while she recorded the song to give her enough breath to hit the high notes. Tada has no professional training in music.

In 2010, Tada announced that she had been diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer. She underwent a mastectomy and chemotherapy. Her treatment proved successful, and she was declared cancer-free in 2015. In November 2018, Tada was diagnosed with a malignant nodule on her chest wall near the site of her original cancer. Radiation treatments for the nodule proved successful, and, in July 2019, she announced that she had once again been declared cancer-free.

Joni’s life has been a beautiful example of Jesus. Jesus saved us through his wounds, and Joni has rescued millions through her own tremendous difficulties and disabilities.

Reflection: Contemplate these two verses, which clearly demonstrate God’s heart toward people who suffer like Joni: Job 5:11,

The lowly he sets on high, and those who mourn are lifted to safety.

Though the Lord is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly; though lofty, he sees them from afar. Psalm 138:6