Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada with a special memory of heaven.
Okay, I know what you’re thinking: how can we have memories of heaven when we haven’t been there yet? Well, although that’s true, you’ll agree that there are moments down here on earth that well, they feel so heavenly that you just know they are given by God to whet our appetite for the world to come.
And to me it happened to me a few years ago when Ken and I attended one of our Joni and Friends Family Retreats. It was the first night of the retreat during the ice cream social; you know, like a mixer when all the special-needs families have a chance to meet each other? Well, while the adults were sitting, lining the walls of the room and eating ice cream, I struck up a conversation with a little girl on crutches. She kind of gave me a playful challenge when she tapped my leg and said, “I bet you can’t catch me!” Then she giggled and quickly turned on her crutches and began scurrying to the other side of the room.
Well, it was a big room, and the competitive spirit in me could not just sit there in my wheelchair, so I zoomed after her, at which point a little boy in a wheelchair followed me. That sparked the interest of a couple of kids with Down syndrome, and before you know it, the children and I were all caught up in a game of tag. Now here’s the thing: at first, I was just being an adult creating some fun for a few kids. But after a couple of minutes of playing with the children, I really got into it. In my wheelchair, I felt like I was really trying to catch that little boy in his wheelchair, and that child with crutches was going as fast as she could, trying to catch me. All the parents were having such a good time cheering us on. We were playing — I was playing. I can’t begin to tell you how young and how free it made me feel; not only that, I just lost all track of time, it seemed like only a few minutes, but actually a half-an-hour went by in a snap and then it was time to head back to our cabins. I was breathless from the joy of it all and that night right before I entered our cabin, I glanced up at the stars and breathed a prayer of gratitude to God.
It had been a magical moment, playing with those kids with disabilities. Well, magical isn’t the best word; but the Bible term “glorious”! For the Christian, the magical moments in life are the glorious moments in life. They are the moments we feel like life was really made for, but they are moments that never last long. That’s because those glorious moments are gifts to us from God, and He intends them to be nothing more than a foreshadowing of even greater joy to burst in heaven on the horizon; they are heavenly hints and whispers of the glory He’s promised to give us in hereafter. And that night helped me taste the joy of what it will feel like to one day to be free of all limitations, all disabilities, and I just bet those disabled kids felt the same. C.S. Lewis once said, “To enter heaven is to become more human than you ever succeeded in being on earth; but to enter hell, is to be banished from humanity.”
You know, I love this memory so much I think I'm going to enter it in our Joni and Friends’ 35th anniversary blog contest this month. And you can enter, too. If you have a personal blog, write a post sharing your special moments connected with Joni and Friends. Share it on your personal blog anytime during August, then post your blog link on the Joni and Friends blog at joniandfriends.org. All the contest details are on my radio page. And hey, if your Joni and Friends experience (maybe at Family Retreat or listening to the radio program) wins we’ve got some great prizes. So let us hear from you today at joniandfriends.org.
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