My life goal is to see the world's one billion people with disabilities embraced and encouraged by the church.
Joni Eareckson TadaRead
My weakness, that is, my quadriplegia, is my greatest asset because it forces me into the arms of Christ every single morning when I get up.
Interpretation
Embracing one's challenges can lead to strength and spiritual growth.
In this quote, Joni Eareckson Tada reflects on how her physical limitations, specifically her quadriplegia, serve as a catalyst for her spiritual reliance on Christ. Instead of viewing her condition as a mere weakness, she recognizes it as an asset that deepens her faith and connection to her spirituality every day.
In practice
During a motivational speech addressing overcoming adversity.
My life goal is to see the world's one billion people with disabilities embraced and encouraged by the church.
Heartache forces us to embrace God out of desparate, urgent need. God is never closer than when your heart is aching.
...we will stand amazed to see the topside of the tapestry and how God beautifully embroidered each circumstance into a pattern for our good and His glory.
My wheelchair was the key to seeing all this happen—especially since God’s power always shows up best in weakness. So here I sit … glad that I have not been healed on the outside, but glad that I have been healed on the inside. Healed from my own self-centered wants and wishes.
If you truly believe in the value of life, you care about all of the weakest and most vulnerable members of society.
God deliberately chooses weak, suffering and unlikely candidates to get His work done, so that in the end, the glory goes to God and not to the person.
As long as you have the courage to admit mistakes, things can be turned around.
When I rest I feel utterly lifeless except that my throat burns when I draw breath... I can scarcely go on. No despair, no happiness, no anxiety. I have not lost the mastery of my feelings, there are actually no more feelings. I consist only of will. After each few metres this too fizzles out in unending tiredness. Then I think nothing. I let myself fall, just lie there. For an indefinite time I remain completely irresolute. Then I make a few steps again.
There is one good thing about reaching the bottom. When you get there, there's nothing left to do but fight your way back up or die.
Let them call me rebel, and welcome, I feel no concern from it.
I don't favor violence. If we could bring about recognition and respect of our people by peaceful means, well and good. Everybody would like to reach his objectives peacefully. But I'm also a realist. The only people in this country who are asked to be nonviolent are black people.
Death is not the biggest fear we have; our biggest fear is taking the risk to be alive - the risk to be alive and express what we really are.
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