Hey, it's Heart for the Disabled week here at Joni and Friends...
Thanks for joining me, Joni Eareckson Tada, as we begin one of my favorite weeks of the year. This is when I ask you to take a few minutes to write a note of encouragement to disabled people who attended last summer's Family Retreats. Many of you have been doing this with me for years and it has meant the world to these people who receive, well, Valentine's cards, letters, notes with Scriptures, maybe words of a hymn, a favorite inspirational poem. And today, I’m thinking that Alicia and her mother and father could use some of your encouragement, because this 21-year-old girl, Alicia, is so wounded.
Alicia was injured in a car accident back in 2005 and she, bless her heart, is still struggling to learn how to live as a quadriplegic. It was impossible for me to miss Alicia and her parents, James and Rebecca, at our Family Retreat this past summer, because while others were reuniting with old friends, this little family who had traveled down from the Appalachian Mountains was brand new to a Family Retreat; they were hurting, they were kind of standing off to the side away from the action. James and Rebecca were obviously still learning how to deal with the demands of Alicia’s disability – they were always vigilant, constantly on edge, a little nervous. Yes, Alicia is a wounded lamb, but one look into the eyes of her mother and father and you could see that they, too, are also wounded.
Coming to Family Retreat, she and her folks said it was the first time since the accident that they had connected with families like theirs. James and Rebecca had never talked to another couple with a disabled daughter; they had been doing it all alone and Family Retreat was the first time Alicia had ever met other young people in a wheelchair. They didn’t stay on the sidelines long that week. Soon they were sharing their story with others, and as they did, they discovered there were Christians who really did understand. At the close of the retreat, Alicia said something pretty poignant. She smiled and quietly said, “I’m starting all over again.”
I’ve been keeping in touch with her since Family Retreat. She’s still struggling, bless her heart. Alicia has enrolled in online courses at a college in North Carolina, and she’s starting to piece together what this new life might look like. She has drawn inspiration from Jeremiah 29 where God says, “For I know the plans I have for you… plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope.” Slowly Alicia is hoping; she’s beginning to believe that God Himself will shepherd her. The problem is, in their small town up in the mountains, there aren’t a lot of other Christians – especially families like theirs with a disability.
Friend, this is why I know Alicia and her parents, James and Rebecca, would really appreciate a note of encouragement from you. So write a note today. Assure them that you’ll be praying for them and then, by all means, please do pray. Pray for their emotional needs; their financial needs; their need for a good church. Share some uplifting Scriptures or ask your children or grandchildren to draw a picture – anything would bolster this family right now. Just jot your note or card and send it to “Alicia and her family” in care of Joni and Friends, P.O. Box 3333, Agoura Hills, CA 91376. If you missed any details, I’ll be posting Alicia’s story online on our radio page at joniandfriendsradio.org. I want it to arrive in time for Valentine's Day so once again write your card to “Alicia and her family” at Joni and Friends, P.O. Box 3333, Agoura Hills, CA91376.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 91376
© Joni and Friends