Another great book by Joni… and this time, with her husband, Ken, their story is amazing… written with raw vulnerability, revealing the not-so-fairy-tale side of marriage life, nothing but combating with challenge after challenge, unceasingly fighting reality with faith.
Marriage life is not just “happily ever after’, yet, full of heartaches and challenges most of the time, “for better, richer, in health”, as well as and mostly“for worse, poorer and in sickness”, it is even more difficult for a marriage involved quadriplegia, however the vow pulls it all together with God’s promise.
I love Joni’s books.
Joni Eareckson Tada, a quadriplegic, lost her mobility at 17, broke her neck in a dive. She wrote many books to strengthen those who are weak in faith, physically disabled and spiritually paralyzed. This book, she co-writes with her husband Ken Tada and Larry Libby, telling the love story of her life. Marriage is not the end of their story, rather it’s the beginning of more challenges, struggles and unbearable heartache. Ken Tada decided to marry Joni, who is a quadriplegic, making marriage life even tougher. Like a lot other couple, theirs aren’t easy at all, there are times they do not talk to each other, there are times life is full of disappointments, there are times when life being together is all about bills, insurance, medication, flying schedules, meetings and sleepless nights… but God is faithful… they learned to look up to God, especially when Joni is diagnosed with breast cancer, their love for each other deepened in Jesus, and all these doesn’t change magically overnight. It all starts with a prayer… a willing heart to depend on God and get Him involve…
I enjoy reading this book though I am single. I think couple with their vow made in front of the Lord will enjoy this book too, as you will find incidents where yours resonance with theirs…
“How wonderful to be needed. Wanted, Cherished, Loved for something more than physical ‘usefulness’.” (p. 66)
“Joni, if I met all your expectations, you wouldn’t need God!” (p. 103)
“If husbands and wives were all they expected each other to be, neither would feel much inclination to depend on the Lord.” (p. 103)
“I can see my limitations more than I ever have before, which just reminds me of how deeply I depend on Jesus right now, When you think about it, that’s not a bad place to be.” (p.144)
“suffering had been – and would continue to be – the thing God would use in their lives to draw them closer to Jesus. To show them His power to sustain. And to shine most brightly through them. Brighter than ever before.” (p. 151)
“The more we have been forced to depend on Christ in our weakness, the stronger our marriage has become.” (p. 156)
“… splash of heaven is when you find Jesus in your hell.” (p.151)
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