Judy’s Chair Corps Story
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and isn’t it amazing how God always provides?
You read the verse all the time. And you probably reassure yourself with it whenever your faith begins to falter. Philippians Chapter 4, verse 19 says, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Wow! Not just some needs, or a few, but every need of yours. And sometimes God does it in the most unusual and surprising way.
Take for instance what happened when we were collecting and loading wheelchairs that had been dropped off at the Minneapolis airport for ‘Wheels for the World’. You see, Joni and Friends in Minnesota has a unique relationship at that airport with Delta Airlines. A bunch of their Delta employees – flight attendants, guys who work the tarmac, ticket agents and the like – these Delta employees have become so excited about our ‘Wheels for the World’, that they help collect and then even load up donated wheelchairs so we can ship them to prison where, of course, inmates volunteer to make them like new for the disabled children and adults we serve overseas. Now here’s the thing: When chairs are loaded for shipment, we have to layer the wheelchairs in the truck, and we do it with plywood. We need to put plywood or something similar, on top of the first layer of chairs so that the rest can be stacked. So, when we ship our chairs by truck, we are constantly on the lookout for discarded or damaged plywood for this purpose. It’s a matter of God providing something simple yet very, very much needed.
Now, here’s where it gets interesting. One of the Delta employees works on the tarmac of the Minneapolis Airport and often meets the planes that fly home fallen US servicemen or women for burial in Minnesota. When these fallen heroes are flown home by Delta, their transport from the aircraft to the hangar is done carefully and with great honor. The coffins have to be draped in flags and placed on wooden platforms. After the coffins are safe in the hangar, these wooden platforms, usually plywood, are discarded. But this particular Delta volunteer of course knew of our need for plywood, and so he brings us all the plywood we need when we ship our wheelchairs to those prisons or storage centers. And this is the plywood God provides for the layering of our wheelchairs when we load them up. It’s a small but extremely fascinating way that God shows how He provides, even for seemingly insignificant things, like layering stacks of wheelchairs: from serving fallen American servicemen and women in battle to providing wheelchairs for kids with disabilities overseas. Wow!
And you know what? I would love for you to see a photo that was snapped by one of our Delta friends who took part in receiving home those fallen servicemen; and it was taken at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport. Just go online to joniradio.org to get a look, and be praying would you for the many ‘Wheels for the World’ trips heading out this week and next? We are taking wheelchairs and Bibles to needy disabled children in India, El Salvador, Cuba and Peru. That’s thousands of families hearing the Good News of Jesus Christ, not to mention a child or an adult with a disability receiving a like-new wheelchair. Also would you please thank the Lord for our good friends at Delta up in Minneapolis who are not only serving ‘Wheels for the World’, but pray for the families of our fallen American servicemen and women; God bless those who care! And don’t forget to visit joniradio.org where we have that wonderful snapshot of the friends at Delta receiving home our fallen servicemen and women. Go on line to joniradio.org. It’s all there for you. Thanks for listening today on Joni and Friends.
© Joni and Friends
