My friend Skip and I are the same age – we were both born in 1949. Plus, Skip broke his neck in a diving accident at the age of 17, just like me. That’s quite a coincidence – but to add to it, our injuries are at the exact same level, the 4th and 5th cervical level. But there’s more of a coincidence. Skip and I had our diving accidents on the exact same day at almost the same time. But here’s the real kicker: Skip’s accident happened in the Chesapeake Bay, the same body of water I dove into! My accident happened on the same day on the Maryland side of the Chesapeake Bay, up near Annapolis; and Skip had his accident just about the same time on the Virginia side of the Bay – and it all occurred on the afternoon of July 30th, 1967. You can see why I’ve always felt a special kinship with Skip. And I always loved it whenever our paths would cross – he was a Paralympic athlete and very much into adaptive sports… a really handsome guy married to Daphne, his physical therapist, for many years.
Well, my heart broke when I learned he recently died from complications connected with his quadriplegia. It was such a shock. I took his death so personally, and I guess it’s because of our similarities. Perhaps this explains why the news of his passing made me so angry at death and disease!
At the same time, I felt the sense of joy because I knew that Skip was a believer in Jesus. That means no more quadriplegia for him! Hallelujah! Is that good news or what? My friend Skip is free of the confines of a body that does not work. Jesus Christ was wounded for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, but get this – with his stripes we are healed! I cannot begin to tell you what good news that is to someone like me in this wheelchair because I know that the horrible blows from the whip on Jesus’ back have purchased a world without disease or disability. Now to be sure, that world is still in the future, but Romans 8:23-24 assures me that it’s coming soon, it’s on the horizon, heaven’s about to break on earth’s landscape and although Skip is not here to join me, I’ll say, “We who are quadriplegics, those of us who live in wheelchairs and know the Lord Jesus, we cannot wait!”
Hallelujah, when Christ came into the world, he came on a mission to accomplish global redemption. He signaled the purpose of his mission by healing the sick and raising the dead – those were his previews of what was coming at the end of history when “he will one day wipe away every tear from our eyes” (Revelation 21:4).Friend, do you know someone who is, well, a paraplegic, a stroke survivor, a quadriplegic, someone in a wheelchair? Tell them about the world that is coming soon, the world of no more disease or death which Jesus purchased – and let them know that through Jesus, they can follow Skip… they can enter that wonderful place – heaven – where every tear will be wiped away.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 93176
© Joni and Friends