70th Birthday Interview
SHAUNA: Hi, I’m Shauna Amick, and I’m turning the tables and interviewing Joni today!
JONI: And I’m glad you are!
SHAUNA: Oh, Joni, as we get ready to celebrate your 70th birthday, you know, I can’t help but try to picture you as a little girl. I mean, what were your little girl dreams, Joni? What did you want to do or be when you grew up?
JONI: Oh, wow, 70 years ago, let’s see. I wanted to be just like my daddy. I wanted to build houses and lay hardwood floors. No, not actually. Let’s see, when I was a little girl…actually, as I got older, in my high school yearbook, I said that I wanted to marry the man in the Marlboro commercial. (SHAUNA: Alright!) Crazy. Like I wanted to live on a horse farm somewhere and raise horses. But, no, really, I was heading off to college originally to learn how to become a physical therapist. (SHAUNA: Wow.) Isn’t that strange? (SHAUNA: Oh, my goodness.) And I end up doing physical therapy, except on the wrong end. (SHAUNA: On the other side, right?) On the receiving end. And, whatever dreams I’ve had, whatever hopes I had for the future…boy, Shauna, when I broke my neck, they were all out the door. Shattered; ruined; crushed. It was so disappointing at first to know that I would never walk again, have use of my hands; it was heartbreaking for a 17-year-old to even swallow the reality of that.
SHAUNA: Well, I mean, it would be for anybody. And certainly to take those dreams that you had and have to exchange them, right, for different dreams. So, you might not have fulfilled those little girl dreams, but, boy, I’ll tell you what, quadriplegia has not slowed you down from fulfilling God’s call on your life. Oh, my goodness, Joni, when I think about it – let’s see – you’re a painter, an author, a singer, a spokesperson, a disability rights advocate (JONI: Okay, okay.) I gotta go on – two-time cancer survivor, ministry founder and CEO.
JONI: You’re making me tired.
SHAUNA: Well, I know! We watch you, and we feel tired. I mean, you’re Joni Eareckson Tada! So, I wonder now, as you ponder all those ways that God has used you, is there anything you’d do differently? Is there anything that you would tell your younger self?
JONI: I think I would say, love Jesus more. Just love Him more. I wish I would have spent more time with Jesus, just getting to know Him better. And make better choices. Like for instance, Shauna, I know the words to almost every Beach Boys’ song, every song the Beatles put out on their first two albums; I mean, I can recite limericks from TV cartoons in the 50s and 60s. And yet, I don’t know as much Scripture. And I just wish that in my teenaged years, my early 20s, I just would have memorized the Word of God more, just love Jesus more.
SHAUNA: Oh, my goodness, well that’s fantastic advice for all of us, no matter what season, what age. And now, here we are celebrating your 70th birthday, and I don’t know, I can’t wait to see what God has for you next. What are you most looking forward to in this next season?
JONI: I really enjoy our internship program. I love pouring my heart and soul into the lives of these young interns. Young men and women who come to us – maybe they’re special ed majors or they’re studying to be an occupational therapist, and they have a heart for sharing Christ with people with disabilities. I love telling them, love Jesus more. I love the young people in our ministry, I really do.
SHAUNA: And we’re so happy, Joni, that you’re here and able to pour into them; that you’ve beaten cancer again and you’ve made it through that additional hospital stay and still happily recording everything you’ve learned from God’s Word. So, let me just say on behalf of all of us, not only at Joni and Friends, but listening all over the country, all over the world – thank you for pouring yourself out for Jesus and pouring yourself into all of us and this next generation. And might I just end with this – happy birthday!
JONI: Okay! At the age of 70, that’s saying something!
© Joni and Friends
Joni is Donating Her Birthday!
This year marks a miracle milestone for Joni. She is looking for 70 friends, or better yet 700 friends, to donate $70 dollars each to her 70th birthday campaign! Joni is raising funds so that Joni and Friends can serve more people living with disabilities worldwide!
Donate!
