Joni and Friends founder and speaker Joni Eareckson Tada continues to let God use her story 59 years after a diving accident changed her life.
“I can only see a tiny fraction of what God is doing in my life, and sometimes that little fraction doesn’t make sense at all! That’s how I felt on July 30th, 1967, when I dove into shallow water and broke my neck,” Tada wrote in a recent post.
Her sister rescued her and brought her to the ER, but Tada was unable to move most of her body.
“Hours later, though, doctors told my family that my paralysis was permanent,” she said. “My sister was convinced that my rescue was a miracle of God… She kept insisting that God moved that crab into position to bite her toe, thereby grabbing her attention.”
Tada struggled with how it could have happened to her, but now she knows her sister was right.
“That day, God miraculously saved me from death-by-drowning. But it was only the beginning of the miracle,” she said. “God’s infinite wisdom saw a way to bring the greatest good out of that painful and complex situation, and no power was able to stop Him from fulfilling His good plans.”
Related: Joni Eareckson Tada Answers Tough Question: Would I Still Take the Dive?
God is powerful enough to influence a tiny crab, so surely his sovereignty spreads to all humans, too, whom He sacrificed His life for.
“I thank our Lord Jesus for being sovereign over not only great and mighty things, but over very small things, too,” Tada said.
Tada’s ability to celebrate the accident that left her paralyzed is incredible.
“We benefit greatly by remembering the deeds of the Lord and all the grace that He’s given us in years past, even through the worst of times,” another one of her anniversary posts reads. “Whatever suffering you’re facing, you can join Joni in celebrating God’s unwavering faithfulness in the midst of grueling trials.”
Professional basketball player Patric Young had a similar experience after a car accident left him paralyzed from the waist down days before his wedding.
Eventually he said, “All right God. You say this is how it’s supposed to be. I don’t see it that way, but you see it that way so I’m going to trust you.”
Tada knows how valuable she is to God, and she wanted others to feel that, too. So she created Joni and friends in 1979 to help those with disabilities all around the world.
Since then, she’s served on the Disability Advisory Committee to the US State Department, has written over 50 books and hosts a radio program. Her program has helped millions and provided over 227,000 wheelchairs and Bibles to people in developing countries.
Read Next: Joni Eareckson Tada Explains How God ‘Had a Purpose’ for Her Paralysis
Questions or comments? Please write to us here.
