God’s love is real. Turn to Christ in your time of need and he will give you comfort and joy instead of sorrow.
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and you are listening to Sharing Hope.
You know, far too many people with disabilities are suffocating under the grip of depression and despair. Too many families, too many marriages are buckling under the weight of disability. And I’m thinking today of Ovidu from Romania. When Ovidu was born three months early, he was very tiny and sick. his Romanian mother, Elena, said, “You know, my neighbors told me, ‘Go ahead and abandon him. he is broken.’” My goodness, for her, and millions of mothers all over the world who have a child with a disability, life is filled with isolation, day-to-day survival, and little to no help from neighbors. Proof of that is when Elena decided to keep little Ovidu. Her neighbors? They turned their backs on her and her son.
Elena, being very poor and not having access to much medical help for her disabled child, worried and wondered what might happen to him when she got too old to care for him. But Elena wouldn’t give up on her son in spite of what others told her. She began reading the Bible, a few verses each day, and learned about Jesus Christ, oh my goodness, was he good news! Then she heard about a Wheels for the World outreach taking place in a nearby town. Could it? Would it be possible for Ovidu to receive a, [oh my goodness], a wheelchair? She had no assurance, but she had hope. And so, she and Ovidu made the journey on foot, she carrying him all the way in her arms. When this mother and disabled son arrived at our wheelchair distribution, tired and weary, Elena paused at the door, astounded at what she saw. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she was welcomed by our Wheels team. She told us, “I haven’t been able to stop crying since I came into this room, because I see all around me that God's love is real.”
A beautiful, shiny pediatric wheelchair was pushed toward Ovidu. Elena was overwhelmed at this gift, this beautiful pediatric wheelchair with a headrest and lateral supports and a chest harness, this beautiful wheelchair was for her son? Elena wiped her eyes and said, “I never dared to hope for a wheelchair. But you’ve given a beautiful one to us today! I’ve been carrying Ovidu in my arms, but it is so very hard,” she whispered. Now, Ovidu won’t have to spend his days inside their house. His future is bright! The wheelchair will enable him to go to school, attend a local church, and enjoy simple pleasures like, well, sitting at a table to share a meal with his mother.
After we fit Ovidu to his new little wheelchair, we shared the Gospel and introduced Elena to a local pastor who invited her and her son to come to their Romanian church. The pastor opened the Romanian Bible and showed her Jeremiah 31:13-14 where God says, “I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow...and my people will be filled with my bounty.” Surrounded by so much hope and encouragement, Elena just didn’t want to leave our Wheels for the World team. She kept saying, “I can’t believe what I’m seeing! People who have crawled like my son are rolling away in beautiful wheelchairs with tears of joy pouring down their faces!”
One more thing, [and just know that I love sharing this sort of hope with you every single day so] please join me next time right here for more inspiration and even more hope. And by the way, if you’d like to share this program on your Facebook page, just click the share button at joniradio.org. Again, that’s joniradio.org. And then remember that the promise in Jeremiah is for you, too – for he will give you comfort and joy instead of sorrow. You, too, can be filled with his bounty. It’s a promise you have when you turn to Christ with your need!
© Joni and Friends