Here’s the latest from the crossroads of faith, media & culture: 11/22/23

The power of Thanksgiving. It was 1967 when a diving accident left then seventeen-year-old Joni Eareckson Tada a quadriplegic. About a dozen years later she founded Joni and Friends, her ministry devoted to helping and showcasing those living with disability around the world. In the decades since she has survived cancer and distinguished herself as a successful radio host, inspirational speaker, painter, singer of a temporarily Oscar-nominated movie theme (more on that later) and author of over 45 books, her latest being The Practice of the Presence of Jesus: Daily Meditations on the Nearness of Our Savior (and associated app) in which she shares how the daily practice of faith and gratitude has empowered her to overcome the significant physical and psychological challenges she’s faced since that fateful day so long ago.

JWK: You were only seventeen when you had your accident. I know it must be hard to talk about but can you share a little about that?

Joni Eareckson Tada: Oh, it’s not hard to talk about after 56 years. I am closer to my new glorified body at my age than I am to my old earthly body more than half a century ago. No, it’s not hard to talk about at all. I was seventeen. I had just graduated from high school and was looking forward to going to college. My sister and I decided to go to the beach to spend an afternoon together before she went off to her college. I took a reckless dive into some very shallow water and my head hit the bottom and crunched my fourth cervical vertebrae and severed my spinal cord which left me a quadriplegic. That was a long time ago.

JWK: That’s like what happened to the political writer Charles Krauthammer, right?

JET: Exactly. He dove into a pool. I dove into shallow water in the Chesapeake Bay but our injuries were very similar. His injury was a little bit lower on the cervical level than mine. He had some wrist flexion and extension. I don’t have that. He had a little bit more functioning ability.

JWK: Did you two know each other at all?

JET: No, we never had a chance to meet – although we corresponded. He was a busy man. I still am a busy woman. It was difficult for us to connect but there’s an odd fellowship, a bonding, between people who suffer spinal cord injury at that level. So, I think we had an affection for one another even though we never met.

JWK: Do you prefer the word handicap or disability?

JET: Disability is probably the better word…A handicap is something that society (is) handicapping – like you handicap a golfer or you handicap a jockey…That’s pretty much the way I would use handicap. A disability is a physical or mental impairment of some sort.

JWK: How did you manage to pull it all together following the accident?

JET: That was a long, long journey. I remember lying in bed. After I got out of the hospital I went home and I stayed in bed for a month. I told my family to close the drapes, turn out the lights, shut the door and leave me alone. In the dark I just relived every memory of being on my feet. I fantasized about being on my feet. I prayed to be on my feet. After about a month of living in the dark, I prayed a very short prayer in which I said “God, if I can’t die then show me how to live because I can’t do this. I have no idea how to do this.”

I think that was the beginning of my climbing up out of depression. I just couldn’t stand being sorry for myself anymore. I was tired of being full of self-pity. Thankfully, there were Christian friends who prayed for me and did not treat my like a cripple or an invalid. They treated me like Joni, their friend. We did everyday sorts of things, typical things – going to the park, going to movies, going to the mall, just having fun. They kept me connected to reality. They kept me connected to life. That helped me take steps forward emotionally.

Of course, it was The Bible that made the biggest difference. There were many Bible verses that helped me. One of them was First Thessalonians Chapter Five, Verse 18 where it says “In everything give thanks.” And that’s what I began to do. I didn’t feel thankful – but The Bible is telling me to give thanks, not to feel thankful but to give thanks, to make it an act of your will moving forward. So, I took a step of faith…I didn’t feel thankful but I gave thanks for little things, small things. After a few months – six months – I began to experience the miracle of gratitude. I began to feel thankful. That was how I think God got me up out of depression.

JWK: Wow – but how did you actually start an organization? It’s one to kind of get out of depression but to actually start what you started is something else.

JET: To make a long story real short, I’m a mouth artist. I was doing a little exhibit in Baltimore, Maryland not far from my home. A local NBC television station did a little short clip on my life and shared it on the news. The producers of NBC’s Today Show saw that show and invited me to New York where Barbara Walters interviewed me. That was 1974. It so happened that a publisher was watching The Today Show that morning. He heard me share my story and then the next day called and “We’d like to publish a book about you.” That’s how things got started.

After that book was published I got letters from all over the world because it quickly became an international bestseller. It’s been published in Vietnamese, Chinese, French, Spanish, Danish, Scandinavian, all kinds of languages – and I began to get letter from people like me who were disabled (and) who had big questions. So, that’s why I started Joni and Friends – to help some of these people find their answers and also to help the Church become embracing toward families like mine.

JWK: You have so much talent. You’re a singer, right?

JET: Not really. Sure I love to sing – but I sing in the shower. I’m no Amy Grant.

JWK: In 2013 you sang the title song for the faith-themed film Alone Yet Not Alone.

JWK: It was a great song and you sounded great. Do you have any thoughts on how the song was nominated yet not nominated for an Oscar?

JET: It was nominated in the category of Best Song for the Academy Awards but it got big resistance from big music companies.

JWK: It was a beautiful song. Why would they resist it?

JET: What happened is that the composer who was on the board of governors for the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which is the group that sponsors the Academy Awards, had sent an email to about 75 of his friends in the industry and said (something like) “You’re never gonna hear this song because it’s from a movie that’s low budget (and was) in limited release. So, when it comes across your desk don’t ignore it. It’s valid. Just give it a listen.” I read the email. It was nothing coercive – but it was decided that that was providing undue influence and pressure on members of the Academy. So, (the nomination) was rescinded.

JWK: Do you think the rescinding of the nomination had anything to do with the fact that Alone Yet Not Alone is a faith-themed film – or, perhaps, politics related to its Native American subject matter?

JET: Oh, I don’t know. I have no idea. Yes, it’s a Christian movie. Yes, there were Native Americans in it. It was low-budget movie in limited release but it did meet the qualifications for acceptance. Nevertheless, I just think it was pressure from Hollywood companies but I’m just guessing. I really don’t know.

JWK: Have you recorded other songs as well?

JET: Yes, I did – two albums with Word Records, a couple of children’s albums – but singing is not my deal. It really isn’t.

JWK: But you do have a beautiful voice.

JET: You’re kind to say that – but writing is the big deal and, of course, this book The Practice of the Presence of Jesus is one that that I’m especially excited about.

JWK: What inspired you to write this book and what do you hope people take from it?

JET: Years ago when I was in high school I read a book called The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence, a Carmelite monk from the 17th century. It was his recitation of the many ways that God met him when he did the most menial tasks in his day – scrubbing floors at the monastary, pots and pans in the kitchen, the toilets, the latrines. It was very influential when I was in high school and pretty set the course for me to look for God in the everyday normal duties of life.

After I became paralyzed, shortly after my high school graduation (and) after I got up out of depression, I started practicing God’s presence again and looking for Him in the most menial everyday ordinary ways. It took a long time but I discovered that practicing Christ’s presence in my afflictions – because I’m a quadriplegic and I live with neuropathic pain which is very debilitating…

JWK: So, you actually feel pain?

JET: Well, it’s neuropathic. Yes, I do. It’s like a burning, knifing feeling on the inside. Part of it is due to scoliosis after 56 years of sitting in one position. So, you know, I reach out to Jesus often, very often. I have to practice His presence all the time because, you know, I go through a few hours and it’s “Oh, Jesus! Please help me!” It’s a constant reaching out to touch the hem of His garment – just to (say) “Help me God, I can’t do this!” And yet “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  That’s what I mean by the practice of the presence of Jesus.

*Note: As our conversation continues on Friday, Joni defines the concepts of humility, thankfulness, fear, worship, obedience, hope and abiding in Christ and discusses how they each empower her to move forward through the challenges in her life. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

John W. Kennedy is a writer, producer and media development consultant specializing in television and movie projects that uphold positive timeless values, including trust in God.