What I'm Reading Right Now

So, I picked up a free copy of "Joni" (pronounced like "Johnny"). It's the story of Joni Eareckson, now Joni Eareckson-Tada, who became a quadriplegic at the age of seventeen as the result of a diving accident.

It was her first book, and it's an eye-opening account. She walks the reader through her struggle from day one of her disability. I'm only about half-way through, and she has been sharing candidly her fight with depression, loneliness, pointlessness, and the ultimate question: "How on Earth could God's plan possibly include this and mean it for good?" I can relate with every one of those attacks from Satan--can't you?

I want to share a quote from the book that struck me as very poignant. In her journey, she's come full-circle in the "Is there even a God?" debate. She's read Marx, Kafka, and many others, but those only leave her in despair. After turning to the Bible once again, she says:

"I was angry that my life has been reduced to the basics of eating, breathing, and sleeping--day in and day out. But what I discovered was that the rest of the human race was in the same boat. Their lives revolved around the same meaningless cycle--except with them, it wasn't as obvious. Peripheral things distracted them from the fact that they were caught on the same treadmill. Their jobs, schools, families, and recreation occupied them enough so they never consciously recognized their lives were the same as mine--eating, breathing, sleeping.

"And slowly, I became aware of God's interest in me. I was some sort of 'cosmic guinea pig'--a representative of the human race on whom truth could be tested. All the distractions, trappings, and things were gone. God had taken them away and had placed me here without distractions...I had to find meaning, purpose, and direction, not just some measure of temporary satisfaction.

"Yes, there had to be a personal God, I reasoned. He may choose not to reveal himself to me...but them, why should He? Why was I any more important than the next person who had to find God and purpose by faith, not by sight. Why should I be different?"

(from: "Joni." by Joni Eareckson. 1976. pp. 105)

So often I feel as Joni did. What is there in the world that will have lasting effects? lasting meaning? I get bogged down by the drudgery and monotony of day-to-day living sometimes, because, lets face it, life is difficult. As Christians, however, we must never forget that the work we do that honors the Lord is lasting and permanent. Praise be to the Lord!

One final thought, and it's not my own. Let us turn to the ultimate authority on this topic:

"A man can do nothing better

than to eat and drink and

find satisfaction his work.

This too, I see is from the hand of God

for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?"

~Ecclesiastes 2: 24-25