Essentially Christians
have a way of teaching children about difference and diversity; yet
adults still need to be reminded of when faced with difficulties and
challenges in life. Or when being cruelly judged by others. One adult
who has learned and shared such life lessons is Joni Eareckson Tada.
She grew up in a very healthy and physical family. Her father was the
in 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. Jon lived an active life. She enjoyed
riding horses, hiking, tennis and swimming. She embodied what most would
call a healthy and vibrant young person in an active world. Yet, on
July 30th 1967, when she was just 17 years old she dived into the Chesapeake
Bay. She misjudged the shallowness of the water and fractured her fourth
and fifth cervical vertebrae. This accident caused her to become a quadriplegic.
Being paralysed from the shoulders down. Her time as a 'normal' active
teenager were suddenly over.
During the two
years Joni underwent rehabilitation she experienced anger, depression
suicidal thoughts and even doubts about her faith. Yet through it all
she found an inner resilience that helped her through the pain and frustration.
She learned, through occupational therapy, that she had an untapped
gift for painting. She learned the unusual technique of painting with
a brush held in her mouth. She also learned to write this way, although
for the majority of her writing she uses voice recognition software.
Her story is one of losing and finding purpose in life. It stands as
one that we all can learn from.
Talk about not
being perfect in a judgmental world. How many of us have been extremely
negative about who we are and what we can do? We live in a world where
perfection is held up as the idealised goal of everyone. Yet these goals
and challenges are constantly being moved and set higher and higher.
To the point people are not able to ever achieve anything near achieving
them.
As I wrap this
reflection on scripture up, I'm reminded of a question a friend asked
me. A special needs client of his accepted Jesus as his saviour. My
friend wanted to know what life would be like for his client in heaven.
Would he still have his handicap? II explained that when we enter heaven
we are given a new body. One that is in fact perfect. One that would
not become sick or weak. One that God has for each of us. He seemed
okay with the answer. Though the question for some raises a further
question. Why do we have the imperfection here on earth? The answer
to this question is two part. The first relates back to the book of
Genesis. The fall from grace by Adam and Eve. The loss of God's perfection
within each of us is painfully felt through the story of betrayal and
sin. While the second part of the answer is in the way we view perfection
and usefulness. Where the world only wants a perfection that nobody
can achieve; we as Christians know and understand that we are perfectly
imperfect. With all our blemishes and felt limitations we can still
make a difference in the world. We are each a unique candle of hope
to a world of indifference and judgmental.
Prayer:
Lord, you made me,
Wonderfully,
Beautifully,
Purposefully,
To be your light.
Lord, I embrace my,
Uniqueness,
Imperfections,
History,
To tell the world.
May my witness be a,
Testimony,
Story,
Message,
Of hope for the lost.
Amen