Hi, I'm Joni Eareckson Tada and do you have a class reunion coming up soon?
I graduated from high school back in 1967 (yikes, that was so long ago) and, let’s see, it’s been more than five years since my last reunion. I got a chance to see my girlfriends who played field hockey and volleyball with me. Saw my old high school boyfriend – he was there with his girlfriend. And I remember thinking the whole time, Boy, it seems like just yesterday I was walking the halls with these people… how fast time goes by… how much older we all look… and how much closer we all are to eternity. Back in high school when I was first became a Christian in 10th grade, I had a burden to share Christ with my classmates. And now, over 40 years later, there’s not much time left. For that matter, there aren’t as many classmates left – we’re at the age when class reunion time is just getting smaller. Its why, the last time I was at my reunion, I sent a lot of Joni books to friends afterward. And it’s why, at a high school reunion, I want these old friends to see me smile in this wheelchair – I know my smile means a lot more now than when shooting the breeze in homeroom.
I was talking to my friend Jean Swenson recently – you heard me share her story the other day. Anyway, she’s my quadriplegic friend in a wheelchair and she was telling me about her high school reunion. She wanted to make certain that every classmate she encountered would hear the Gospel. So here’s what she did, she made a CD – a very nice one – a CD of her testimony and included on it one of my songs called “The God I Love.” I listened to it the other day and it really is great, and this is what she did with it: at the reunion right after dinner, she wheeled around to each table to personally greet everyone – some she remembered, some she didn’t. And at each table, she gave her testimony on CD to each person she talked to – now you’ve got to understand, most of her classmates only remembered her on her feet; her spinal cord injury happened long after high school. So pretty much everybody was happy to take the CD and they promised to listen to it.
Now I thought that was amazing. I mean, how many other people at a high school reunion could get away with handing out their personal testimony on a CD and have people actually be happy to receive it?! But Jean’s wheelchair opened the way. She reminds me of Philippians 1:12 where it says, “Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the Gospel.” Jean could say the same thing. The accident that paralyzed her has really served to advance the Gospel of Christ, especially among her former high school classmates.
And it’s why I think you’ll be blessed by her testimony, too. It’s so personal and so full of Scripture and when I listened to it, I tell you it really inspired me! Hey, you don’t have to be in Jean Swenson’s class. Listen, if you'd like a CD of her very interesting testimony, then write me today at joniandfriends.org and ask for your free copy. Just go online to joniandfriends.org and we’ll send you your CD right away. And when you listen to it, do me a favor and think of ways that your hardships have served to advance the Gospel among your family and friends. And praise God that He specifically designed that accident or disappointment you’re going through or mishap in your life to literally open the way for you to talk about Jesus... that’s His purpose. In fact, I would love to hear about that. Just go to my radio page. We have a comment box right there. I would love to hear your story about how God has used the hardships in your life to advance his Gospel in some unusual way. It would be great to hear from you! I bet you never would have enjoyed the opportunities to do so, were it not for that handpicked problem God allowed in your life. So celebrate that today, would you? And I'll be looking forward to hearing from you at joniandfriends.org.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
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Agoura Hills, CA 91376
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