Anchor your heart to Romans 12:2. God’s will for your life right now is good, acceptable, and perfect.
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and for years I collected children’s books.
And maybe you also have a collection of Caldecott or Newbery Award winners. Like the one about the relatives that came [I love that one], or The Little Prince, and maybe Polar Express [Man, I love the illustrations in that book] and even Jumanji. I started collecting well-illustrated children’s books shortly after my husband Ken and I were married. This is well over four decades ago, and I have amassed a big stack of some of the best books. I kept them in my art studio and often I leafed through them to be inspired by their illustrations. But it wasn’t just for the sake of art that I collected these kid books. I hoped that one day Ken and I could start our own family. And honestly, right after we married, we tried for a number of years. But when I reached the age of 40 [I was married when I was 32], we decided to stop trying. It was clear that I wasn’t going to become pregnant. At first? It really broke my heart. And for a short while I struggled with real disappointment. But thankfully, I knew enough to take my deep sadness to God and then, I anchored my heart to Romans 12:2. I was committed to believing that God’s will for me was [as it says] good, acceptable, and perfect.
And then not long after that when I was in bed and lights were out, I whispered to Ken [who was lying next to me]; I said, “Ken, if we can’t have our own children, can we not make the children of the world our family?” And that’s exactly what he and I have been doing for the last 40 years of our marriage. We’ve given our energies to the disabled children of the world, providing much-needed wheelchairs, Bibles, and so much more. But what about that big stack of children’s books in my art studio? These books meant so much to me, it was hard to let them go. Yet, good books like these should be read, and read by children who would enjoy them. Well, just a few months ago I was Facetiming with my four-year-old great-nephew Oskar. He’s a sharp little guy, and when I asked what he was doing, he quickly ran over to his bookshelf and pulled out his favorites. He wanted me to see each book. And as I applauded him [because this kid actually reads them; he’s quite a whiz kid], as I encouraged him, I started thinking about my big stack of children’s books way up on top of the shelf in my art studio. And the next time they came for a visit? I had lots of great books with wonderful illustrations to show Oskar.
And I’m dying to show you because one afternoon, Oskar and his little sister, along with me and Oskar’s parents; all of us hung out in the bedroom, sprawled out on the comforter, and we read kid books to each other. Oskar’s favorite? The Relatives Came! My great-nephew was so engrossed in reading that he didn’t even notice that we snapped a photo of him and his little sister [who also likes books]. And I’d love for you to see a few photos of me and my precious children that I hold near and dear, little Oskar and Elinor. They are not my children; they belong to my niece, Earecka and her husband Jason. But I sure do feel as though they are mine. And every time I’m with them, I celebrate Romans 12 and God’s good and acceptable and perfect will for my life. So, take a minute and visit joniradio.org and enjoy these photos of two really great kids in my family – kids who love books. Again, just go to joniradio.org where we are always celebrating the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. God bless you today and thanks for listening.
© Joni and Friends