Welcome to Joni and Friends where this week we’re celebrating…
Well, “celebrating” may be the wrong word. Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and this week marks an important anniversary for me – it was 43 years ago, the last week of July, that I broke my neck in that diving accident. And I’m so grateful to God that I can look back and stand (I should say sit) in amazement at what God has done. When the Joni book was published and Billy Graham made a movie of my life, God used it to reach so many people who were struggling to find God in the midst of their problems.
I remember when I was doing the Joni movie – it was back in the late 70s and Mr. Graham had asked if I would play my part in the movie. Well, I thought if the real person said the real thing in the movie, it would have an impact on a lot of people with real problems. And you know what, I was right. The thing I didn’t bargain for, however, was that I was one of those real people with problems. Let me explain…
You see, there was one scene in the Joni movie where I was lying face-down on a Stryker frame (kind of a flat canvas sandwich on which I would lie in one position, face-down for a few hours; then they would strap on another piece of canvas and flip me to lie face-up for another couple of hours). Anyway, they wanted me to re-enact the time when my high school boyfriend smuggled into the hospital a puppy. He snuck up the back stairs with the puppy tucked into his windbreaker. Keeping the puppy quiet, my boyfriend even got past the nurse’s station on his hands and knees. When he came into my room, I was lying face-down on the Stryker frame and I remember when my boyfriend lifted that little puppy up to my face… that cute little thing started licking my cheek. Back then, after being stuck in a hospital for months, it was just one of those times that God used to really brighten my spirits.
Anyway, the movie people thought this would be a great scene to re-enact. Well, when the actor who was playing my boyfriend got on his knees and lifted the puppy out of his jacket – the cameras were rolling – the dog just hung there, he didn’t do anything. After four or five takes with the puppy not responding, they reverted to smearing liver-flavored baby food on my cheek. On the next take, that little dog had a heyday licking my cheek – he almost chewed it! You know, I can laugh about it now, but back then when the day’s filming was over I sat there for a long moment looking at myself in the mirror. I was tired; I was hurting from lying face-down on that Stryker frame for so long… making the movie was not very glamorous at all. And I have to admit, it was hard looking in the mirror not being able to hold back the tears – it was just one of those moments when I wanted to simply be back on my feet. I just wanted to wash my own face; I wanted to be out of my wheelchair.
The next day, however, one of the crew guys who was helping to film the movie remarked to me how much that particular scene had touched him. He felt that the God I trusted must be pretty special to have helped me through so many months on that Stryker frame. That guy eventually opened up his heart to Christ – all because of that scene in the movie. So can you see why I’m celebrating the many things God has done as a result of that simple dive I took into shallow water. And I just thank the Lord for that movie the Billy Graham Association made about my life – last count, over 250,000 people opened their hearts to Jesus as a result of watching it. And, friend, I’d like you to watch it too, I’ve posted a clip this week on my radio page at joniandfriends.org. And hey, if you’re one of those who saw the Joni movie many years ago and became a Christian, then I would really like to hear from you – you can see a few minutes of the film and drop me a line at joniandfriends.org.
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