The Inner Views of Joni Eareckson Tada

"For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister."

Hebrews 6:10

(KJV)

I am so thrilled to bring today's interview to you, dear friends!

The first time I can remember hearing of this dear lady was when I was a young girl attending a Christian school in Ohio.
I remember watching a film about her life and how deeply I was affected.
I never forgot it, and through the years,
I have followed her story with the utmost respect and admiration.
I feel sure you have, too.

You have more than likely read about her or read her autobiography,
you have possibly seen the movie about her life,
and you have probably listened to her radio program or seen her television show.
Her courageous life for God, in spite of the most debilitating circumstances,
 has touched the hearts of untold millions,
and I am beyond humbled and blessed to be able to share her Inner Views with you today.

The

of
Joni Eareckson Tada.

Cheryl:  What was your childhood like? Were you raised in a Christian home? When did you become a Christian?

Joni:  I grew up in a home where we talked frequently about God. Whether hiking behind him on a mountain path or sitting at his feet by a beach campfire, it was my father with his large soul and zeal for life who, from the start, influenced my love for Jesus. He was a rough-rider sort of outdoorsman who lived a Teddy Roosevelt kind of life. Having been born in 1900, he spent the early part of this century traveling through the west, exploring the southwest and trading with Indians. I remember as a little girl opening up a trunk filled with an Indian princess “wedding gown” made of doeskin and colorful beads, arrowheads and feathers, fringed jackets and beaded belts. One of the belts was presented to Daddy from “Chief Own-Different-Horses.” Around the campfire we girls (his daughters) would sit, hugging our knees, awestruck at Daddy’s stories of hunting bear and going after elk with bow and arrow. My mother and father were great singers and early on we learned many beautiful old hymns which not only laid the foundation for our faith, but remain favorites to this day. A hero is one who can inspire another to a higher level of living, a level of courage and nobility – and my folks, especially my father, did that.

I did not realize my personal need for a Savior, however, until I was 15 years old.

Cheryl:  How has surrendering your heart to Him impacted your attitude toward your disability?

Joni:  The Bible talks about “delighting in your infirmity and glorying in your weakness,” and a disability gives a Christian the opportunity to do just that. Every day I am confronted with my weakness; but that’s good! The Bible tells me that His power shows up best in weakness. So my wheelchair is what pushes me into the arms of my Savior every morning, reminding me of my dependency on the Lord. It’s as II Corinthians 1:9 says, “These things happened that we might not rely on ourselves, but on God.”

Cheryl:  Who are your heroes of the faith?

Joni:  Amy Carmichael served as a missionary to India for many years. Although she came from a well-to-do English family, she set aside the comforts of her homeland and pioneered an outreach to destitute, poor children in India. A severe disability forced her to minister from her bed for many years, yet during that time she wrote a number of inspirational books on the subject of suffering. Corrie ten Boom helped hide Jewish families in her Dutch home during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. For this, she and her family were sent to a concentration camp where Corrie and her sister continued to minister to the prisoners. After she was released from the prison at the age of 50, she began a worldwide ministry.

Chuck Colson prophetically spoke to the church at large, encouraging and admonishing Christians to live out the command of Christ to love those who are poor, imprisoned, orphaned and disabled. His message served as “salt” to our culture, giving our society a moral bearing of absolutes. Elisabeth Elliot was, in my thinking, another prophet to our church and culture, speaking boldly about holiness and obedience to the Lord Jesus. Having lost three husbands through injury or illness, Elisabeth was qualified to speak and write on the subject of suffering. David Brainard was a colonial American missionary whose work was characterized by his life of prayer. Susanna Wesley, mother of John and Charles Wesley, raised 19 children yet found time to pray an hour a day! Andrew Murray and E.M. Bounds not only wrote abundantly about prayer, but spent hours a day in praise and intercession. Bishop J.C. Ryle who wrote "A Call to Prayer and Holiness" was an English preacher in the last century whose ministry was characterized by an exemplary obedience to the Lord Jesus.

Cheryl:  Will you kindly share with us about what happened on July 19, 1967?

Joni:  I was an active, athletic teenager who didn’t know anyone in a wheelchair – all that changed, however, when I took the dive into shallow water which broke my neck and left me a quadriplegic. When the permanency of my paralysis began to sink in, I collapsed into depression. It was through the loving support of Christian friends that I began to feel the cloud lift – finally I was able to pray, “God, if I can’t die, then please show me how to live.” And now, even after 48 years in a wheelchair, I still experience that desperate dependency on God every day – I wake up every morning needing Him urgently! But I’ve discovered it’s a great way to live; it’s the biblical, the Christian way!

Cheryl:  How did you meet your husband, Ken?  What is your secret to a love that has lasted so many years?

Joni:  I met my husband at our church. We dated for about a year-and-a-half – I appreciated his open and honest communication and his questions about my disability. I also appreciated the fact that he loved Jesus Christ and was committed to living his life by the principles of God’s Word. We’ve been married almost 34 years. I think this relationship has worked because of the command in Philippians 2:4 which says, “Each of you should look not to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

Ken and I enjoy a wonderful habit – we pray often together. Whether driving to a Lakers’ game at the Staples Center, going to work together, asking God to lead, bless, guide and protect. I pray a lot for my husband and I hope I am his best cheerleader and listener. I have to be quick to tell him when I am wrong... when I have not told the truth... when I have forgotten to do something he’s asked. All these things communicate that I want to put him first. I remember when we first married; I was disappointed that everything took a back seat to his Monday Night Football. I decided to use that time – about 2 ½ or 3 hours – to pray for him in the bedroom. God really answered! I am now a football fan. By the way, he’s way ahead of me when it comes to memorizing Scripture (one of the things I prayed was that Ken would become a man of God’s word!)

Always let your husband keep his dreams. Find ways to cheer him on, applaud his efforts, pray and read the Bible together, express appreciation, recognize his kindnesses, and affirm every aspect of Christ you can see in his life. A spouse is meant to be his/her best supporter!

Cheryl:  Daily suffering and intense pain is such a part of your cross, and yet, your attitude and outlook remain so positive and faith-filled. How do you stay encouraged, in spite of the continual pain in your body? How do you maintain a Christ-like mindset in the midst of such affliction?

Joni:  Honestly, after more than 48 years in a wheelchair, there are days when I wake up and think, “Lord, I can’t go on…I don’t have the strength.” But I can’t let my emotions go down that dark and grim path. And neither can you. And so, we pray, “Jesus, I don’t have strength; but you do. I have no resources, but you do. I can’t do this, but you can.” The weaker I am, the harder I have to lean on the Lord; and the harder I lean on Him, the stronger I discover Him to be. God always seems bigger to those who need Him most.

Cheryl:  On top of everything else you have been through, in June 2010, you were diagnosed with Stage III Breast Cancer. What was your reaction when first being told you had cancer? How did you cope during the process of treatment and surgery? What would you say to the person reading this who is now facing cancer or some other debilitating disease?

Joni:  I have a confession. You see, a little over 10, maybe 15 years ago, I fell into a season of chronic pain. I know you’ve probably heard me speak about that on the radio. Well, after trying medication (that didn’t work) and homeopathic remedies and other things, the pain did not abate. After several years of it, I started to battle depression. It was so discouraging to wake up in pain every morning. I remember back in 2006 when our Joni and Friends headquarters was being constructed, you know, our International Disability Center, I was bedridden for a lot of the year (I even had to record these radio programs from my bed). And during that time, I was constantly battling depression like a low grade fever. But listen to this: in 2010, when I was told by doctors that I had stage III cancer, that very day I learned the news, my depression vanished!

Why did my depression disappear? Well, this is the confession part: privately, I thought that cancer might be my ticket to heaven; I thought God might take me home through cancer; that it would be my escape from depression. I feel badly admitting that, but it’s the truth. My depression brought out the very selfish feeling of, “Oh, God, I want out of here! I want to be done with this! Please take me home!” Now, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to go home to be with Jesus, the Bible even tells us that to die is gain. But when a desire to go to heaven becomes a death wish, well then your focus is wrong.

But something wonderful happened after the doctors told me I had stage III cancer. As I went through my surgery, and recuperation, and then months of chemotherapy, my attitude began to change. I don’t know how to explain it, but suddenly friends became so much more precious. My husband, Ken, became more precious. My work at Joni and Friends became more precious and even doing this radio program – even from my bed – became more precious. All of it made Jesus and His amazing grace so much more precious! And before 2010 had ended, guess what: I was able to mentally tear up that ticket to heaven. I wanted to get on with life; I wanted to live! And I have the Lord Jesus to thank for that. Also, in a strange, odd way, I have cancer to thank for that. Drawing close to death’s door made me want to hold onto life. I think I experienced what Ezekiel chapter 16, verse 6 says: “Then I the Lord, passed by and I said to you, ‘Live!’” All God needs to do is speak one word to you and me, the word live, and it becomes reality; His word makes all the difference in the world. So if you are battling depression, don’t let it turn your focus inward, don’t be wishing for an early ticket to heaven. Instead, listen to God, listen to life – your life – it’s precious!

Cheryl:  Your faith has been tested on so many levels. How do you keep from becoming bitter?

Joni:  Many people think that when you’ve got quadriplegia, and you’re in a wheelchair, then you have to deal with a bone fracture, and then on top of that, the flu… it’s like, “Hello, God, aren’t you asking a bit much here? Aren’t you being a bit heavy handed?” Some Christians think that when problems pile on that high, especially on top of someone already dealing with more hardships than most normally handle… they assume that when God loads on one too many hardships, that allows you to be bitter with good reason. You’re justified in thinking you deserve a little time off from obeying the Lord. You can’t be blamed if you fly off the handle or get a little worldly for a while, or just kick back and push Bible study and prayer aside. After all, you’re going through so much, so many trials… “You’ll show God he doesn’t have to be trusted if things get too tough.”

Yes, there have been times in years past when I have struggled against bitterness. Bitterness is basically resentment against God (and it could be for anything). It’s anger that you coddle way down deep in your heart and it is like a root -- it can sink smaller fibers of discontent and doubt even deeper that anchor themselves into your heart. And when doubt and discontent become imbedded, when your disposition becomes sour and you make a habit of not starting your day off with the Lord, well, that bitterness is very difficult to then uproot. This is why the Bible emphatically says in Hebrews 12, "See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many." That’s right. Bitterness not only brings you trouble, it infects everyone around you.

I readily admit that, in the beginning, I felt that my spinal cord injury gave me an excuse (a really good excuse) to be angry at God; I felt I was justified in my anger against Him and His plan. But a good friend warned against cultivating that root of bitterness -- and I'm so glad I confessed my anger. And now, years later, I am actually glad for His plan!

Cheryl:  We have been so deeply moved by your recording of the song, Alone, Yet Not Alone. Could you please tell us about the song and how you came to record it?

Joni:  Well, the movie called “Alone Yet Not Alone” for which I recorded this song is about a German immigrant family who settled in western Pennsylvania during the French and Indian War. Two of the daughters are kidnapped in a raid and are raised by Indians. The song – something they learned from their mother – is what sustains them through their long trial. Anyway, that’s the story about the movie.

Let me tell you the story about the song. It all got started a few years ago when I sang several hymns as part of my message at the closing banquet of the National Religious Broadcasters Convention. Several friends in the audience were connected with the production of the movie and after they heard me sing, they asked if I would be willing to perform the theme song. So, as a favor to these friends – and because I knew hymns were a significant part of the storyline – I said, yes. So last fall I recorded it in a small studio and thought that my role was, pretty much, completed.

Well, you can imagine how surprised I was when the Academy nominated it for an Oscar. Look, I'm no Amy Grant or Taylor Swift; I don’t make a career of singing professionally. So I thought it was an amazing illustration of how God delights in picking the ill-equipped, untrained, unskilled, and nonprofessional to get a job done so that He receives the glory! The Oscar nomination stood for two weeks, and then it was rescinded. Why it was rescinded is not entirely clear, at least not to me, but I wasn’t too disappointed. It never was my Oscar to win or lose. Which, by the way, when I did watch the Oscars on TV some weeks later, I smiled when the theme song of the Disney movie “Frozen” received the Oscar. Why did I smile? Because the title of the song was “Let it Go.” I smiled because that’s exactly what I did with “Alone Yet Not Alone” and its almost-Oscar bid. I let it go. And I was all the happier for it, as I leaned on Hebrews chapter 13, verse 5, God says, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” What a promise!

I’m alone yet not alone.

Cheryl:  What cause are you most passionate about and what heritage do you want to leave for the people after you?

Joni: There are more than 1 billion people with disabilities, 80% who live in developing nations struggling against hopelessness. It breaks my heart to think that the suffering these people face may only be a precursor of even greater suffering in a Christ-less eternity. So I want to squeeze every ounce of ministry-effort out of my quadriplegic body to do all I can to reach them with practical help and God’s hope. Every day that God gives is a day to be used to his glory, fulfilling his purpose – as long as we are alive, we have purpose. And my purpose is to help others understand the truth of II Corinthians 12:9, that God’s power is best displayed to our weakness. So as long as I have strength and stamina, I want to share that message – there is just too much suffering and hopelessness in this world to quietly remain on the sidelines.

Whenever I think I’ve had enough suffering, the Holy Spirit always brings to mind First Peter 2:21, “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.” None of us will ever suffer as much as our Savior had to endure. Often I think of him and the way he ministered from his cross – there he was, encouraging the thief crucified next to him; counseling John on how to take care of his mother; forgiving the very people who caused his misery. He did all this from his ‘deathbed,’ as it were. And I have to think, am I above my master? I don’t think so. So I trust that he gives me the cross that he wants me to daily pick up when I follow him – it’s a cross that’s not one ounce too heavy, or one inch too long.

It is a crazy, broken world filled with hopelessness and despair. I hope that people will look at my life and say, “Here is a woman who trusted God despite great suffering. Her life exemplified the truth that God’s power shows up best in weakness. She showed us how not to complain, but to exploit suffering for her good and God’s glory. I would like to do the same!”

Oh, how I have been challenged by Joni's life, her outlook, and her words!
I am eternally grateful for the opportunity to share them with you here,
and I trust they will bless you as much as they have blessed me.

A huge THANK YOU, Joni, for your willingness to share with us!
I suppose only eternity will reveal just how much we love you and how much you have impacted all of our lives.
I would also like to thank Crystal for all of her patience, kindness, and assistance in making my dreams of conducting an interview with Joni a reality.

I am eternally grateful to you both, and trust God's richest blessings will continually rest upon you and all you do.

Dear friends, I hope you will take the time to watch this touching, amazing video
of Joni singing "Alone, Yet Not Alone".
Included are scenes from the movie Joni spoke about.
You can purchase the movie here.

If video doesn't load, click here.

Below is a special interview with Joni and Ken that I know will bless you.

If video doesn't load, click here.

Joni and her husband, Ken Tada, wrote a book together called,
"Joni and Ken:  An Untold Love Story."
Here is the introductory video for the book.

If video doesn't load, click here.

You may order Ken and Joni's book by clicking here.

Thank you ever so much for reading, and may God bless each one of you, precious friends!

To read previous

 click the links below.

The Inner Views of Joshua Becker

 The Inner Views of Lisa Newton

The Inner Views of Dr. Alveda King

The Inner Views of Jen Avellaneda

The Inner Views of Tonya Shellnutt

The Inner Views of Karen Del Tatto

The Inner Views of Evelyn Rennich

The Inner Views of Bob Sellers

The Inner Views of Kelly Bowling

The Inner Views of The Benham Brothers
The Inner Views of Beth Willis Miller
The Inner Views of Rodney Griffin