March is Women’s History Month. I see so many articles and posts about all sorts of women; but, I rarely see any about Christian women.
Author’s Note: If you have written about any Christian women, please post a link in the comment section below and I’d love to read about them!
I’d like to talk about the one who I believe most of us might have heard of: Joni Eareckson Tada.
My first recollection of Joni was watching her movie in the early 1980s.
Joni was an active young woman. At the age of seventeen, she misjudged the depth of the water (Chesapeake Bay) and dove in. She fractured C-4 and C-5 rendering her as a quadriplegic.
Joni became a Christian in her earlier teens but this accident shook her faith in God – questioning His reasons for allowing this accident to happen instead of protecting her. She struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts and even searched elsewhere for answers. Through occupational therapy, she learned how to paint – not with her hands, but with a paintbrush in her mouth.
One day, Joni came to this realization:
“I’d rather be in this wheelchair knowing God than on my feet without Him.”
Since then, she’s dedicated her life as a ministry to God.
“Does God miraculously heal? Sure, he does. But in this broken world, it’s still the exception, not the rule. A “no” answer to my request for miraculous physical healing has meant purged sin, a love for the lost, increased compassion, stretched hope, an appetite for grace, an increase of faith, a happy longing for heaven, a desire to serve, a delight in prayer, and a hunger for his Word. Oh, bless the stern schoolmaster that is my wheelchair!”
Oh, how I love her perspective!
Even though I first heard of Joni all those years ago, I honestly didn’t give her much thought. Until a few months ago when I rediscovered her through her YouTube channel.
God didn’t promise us a life with no difficulties or challenges. He didn’t promise us a life without suffering. But He did promise that He’ll never leave us alone during these times. He did promise that He will take these things and work them for our good so that we may use them to glorify Him and to reach others who are lost.
The most effective way of reaching the lost?
Through our own suffering.
What? Why would God want us to suffer?
2 Corinthians 4:8-11
We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body.
The lost watch Christians very carefully especially when in the midst of a very trying time. They watch to see how we handle difficult circumstances. When they see that we somehow remain upright, confident, and optimistic no matter the loss or pain, they wonder what’s our secret.
1 Peter 3:15
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
And to me, Joni is a bright and shining example of this.
“He has chosen not to heal me, but to hold me. The more intense the pain, the closer His embrace.” -Joni
During our own suffering lies an opportunity to draw closer to God – although this might be something we don’t see at first. It’s our human nature to be angry about our circumstances, lashing out at who we think is responsible for our pain and loss.
“We rant and rave against God for the evil we have to endure but hardly blink at the evil in our own hearts.” -Joni
Joni ranted and raved against God for a long while after the accident. She was angry, and she was perplexed. How could a God allow this to happen to her? She wasn’t sure if she wanted to continue to serve a God who allows bad things to happen to good people – especially His own. Then, something changed her entire outlook. I’ll let her tell this story:
Steve (a family friend) leaned across the family table, and said, “God put you in that chair, Joni. I don’t know why, but if you will trust him instead of fighting him, you will find out why — if not in this life, then in the next. He let you break your neck, and perhaps I’m here to help you discover at least a few reasons why.”
Steve paused and then summed it up with ten words that would change my life:
God permits what he hates to accomplish what he loves.
The sentence hit me like a brick. Its simplicity made it sound trite, but it nevertheless enticed me like an enigmatic riddle. It seemed to hold some deep and mysterious truth that piqued my fascination. “Tell me more,” I said. “I want to hear more about that.” I was hooked. (Source credit: Ten Words That Changed Everything About My Suffering)
WHY ME?
I’ve been taking a closer look at Joni and what she’s gone through and I can see some similarities between her and I.
I became a Christian at six years old. My parents were both involved in the church. I attended a Christian school (K-12th grades) operated by the same church.
I was diagnosed with hearing loss when I was in Kindergarten – but that never really stopped me from doing anything I wanted to do. I was active in sports, especially soccer. I rode horses and even competed in a few Equestrian competitions.
I was all too happy to graduate from high school and head for college where I felt I was finally liberated from a life of strict rules and structure.
When I was diagnosed with a degenerative eye disease (Retinitis Pigmentosa) after two years of college, my whole world flipped. What kind of a successful career could a deaf-blind have?
Soon after the diagnosis, I met and married Aaron only to lose him nineteen months later due to a car accident.
I became very angry with God for allowing these things to happen to me. I couldn’t understand why He allowed Aaron to die. Why I was afflicted with something that was going to eventually blind me and possibly take the rest of my hearing.
Why me?
A few years later, my younger brother attempted suicide. Sometime later, my dad died from an aggressive lung disease.
I eventually remarried (to Jay) and we had a son. Over a year later, I got pregnant again but miscarried after three months.
My husband due to being a veteran has severe PTSD which tested our marriage time and time again.
Throughout all these, I’ve tried to take each in stride but anxiety took hold and threaten to push me over the edge.
The quiet voice within urged me to seek out God as I’ve felt in years past yet chose to ignore but by this time, I’ve grown so tired of fighting, resisting Him.
I longed for the kind of peace only He could provide. I longed for guidance. I no longer wanted to carry all this pain anymore.
STILL A WORK-IN-PROGRESS
I’m still a work-in-progress but there is a growing desire to use my various experiences to help others.
Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
This Broken Clay 
Beautiful testimony. I liked “The lost watch Christians very carefully especially when in the midst of a very trying time.” You and Joni both inspire me, and I am sure many others as well.
(Was actually visiting from FMF #19, but got sidetracked and wound up here. Glad I did.)
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