What people are saying about
A Place of Healing
Jonis joy in Christ through four decades of paralysis, plus now her peace despite constant grinding pain, prompts awe, and her capacity to communicate both remains stunning. This wonderfully wise book on being and not being healed is vintage Jonia true spiritual gem.
J. I. Packer, professor of theology at Regent College
To read Jonis book A Place of Healing is like being engaged in a delightful personal conversation with her. She is honest, bubbly, biblical, sagacious, and devoted to God and His truth. Joni shows us Jesus like few people can and encourages us in our response to Him regardless of our circumstances.
Dr. R. C. Sproul, chairman and president of Ligonier Ministries, and senior minister of St. Andrews, Orlando, Florida
Joni understands pain in a way that few of us will ever. My life has been profoundly impacted as I have watched her live out the message of this book. In the midst of her intensifying struggles with pain, she has given us the gift of this powerful, truth-filled handbook for facing our own challenges. She calls us to focus on the eternal purposes of our sovereign God, to cling to His unfailing promises, and to find a place of rest and healing in His never-ending love.
Nancy Leigh DeMoss, author and Revive Our Hearts radio host
A PLACE OF HEALING
Published by David C Cook
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David C Cook Distribution Canada
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David C Cook U.K., Kingsway Communications
Eastbourne, East Sussex BN23 6NT, England
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The Web site addresses recommended throughout this book are offered as a resource to you. These Web sites are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement on the part of David C. Cook, nor do we vouch for their content.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright 2000; 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible. (Public Domain.) Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from THE MESSAGE. Copyright by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright 1960, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the New Living Translation of the Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright 1996 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. Scripture quotations marked PH are taken from J. B. Phillips: The New Testament in Modern English, revised editions J. B. Phillips, 1958, 1960, 1972, permission of Macmillan Publishing Co. and Collins Publishers. Verses marked TLB are taken from The Living Bible, 1971, Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60189. Used by permission. The author has added italics to some Scripture quotations for emphasis.
LCCN 2010928036
ISBN 978-1-4347-6532-1
eISBN 978-0-7814-0505-8
International Trade Paperback ISBN 9781434702067
2010 Joni Eareckson Tada
Published in association with the literary agency of Wolgemuth & Associates, Inc.
The Team: Don Pape, Susan Tjaden, Amy Kiechlin, Sarah Shultz, Erin Prater, Karen Athen
Designer: JWH Graphic Arts, James Hall
Image: Getty Images, dellafels. Rights managed.
First Edition 2010
For
Gracie Rosenberger
and
Barbara Coleman
Two of my special pain pals.
Every day these women live where
our worst fears threaten to take us;
yet they do so with consummate trust in God
and graciousness toward family and friends.
Thank you, Gracie and Barbara, for
inspiring me to do the same.
Contents
Thankful for These
Healing and help. Those two words go together so well. When someone struggles with pain, a helping hand is so appreciated. And Im no exception. Especially as I worked on A Place of Healing, for the subtitle says it all: Wrestling with the Mysteries of Suffering, Pain, and Gods Sovereignty. There were days of such physical pain that I had to wrestle to write even one page. But God graciously sent some incredibly helpful people my way.
Like Larry Libby. I have worked with my trusty editor-friend on previous books, but never have I had to lean on him as hard as with A Place of Healing. Larry was able to hold a stethoscope up to my soul and give language to the stirrings and murmurs inside my heartfor that, I am eternally grateful. If anyone walks away from this book having drawn closer to God and His Word, I have you to thank, Larry.
And Im always leaning on Wolgemuth & Associates for help. Robert and Bobbie Wolgemuth are longtime friends with whom I have harmonized on many a hymn, not to mention collaboration on past books. They are also intimately acquainted with the path of pain Ive journeyed on these many years, and so I thank you for your prayers, Robert and Bobbie. Im indebted to the growing team at Wolgemuth & Associates, especially Erik and AndrewGod bless you both for opening doors for me to wheel through.
The good folks at David C. Cook have helped give a big boost to A Place of Healing. From Dan Rich to Don Pape: Thank you for extending the Cook platform to me so that I can share my story with a new generation of readers. Im especially grateful to Erin Prater and Susan Tjaden, who became real cheerleaders for the book, giving care and thought in refining every page and paragraph.
There were plenty of times at Joni and Friends when I had to pull away from the computer and simply lie down to give my body a break. It takes a team of people to not only help me research and type, but to get me sitting up comfortably in my wheelchair and moving forward. My coworkersJudy Butler, Francie Lorey, Rainey Floreen, Amy Donahue, and Jaime Chambersdeserve a round of applause for the many times they lent a hand.
Finally, special thanks to my dear husband, Ken, who has faithfully walked beside my chair these many years, seeing me through every hurt and happiness. Ken and I pray that the insights Ive shared in A Place of Healing will lift the spirits of the reader to new heights of trust and confidence in our wonderfully sovereign GodHe is our very present help for every need; He is our place of healing.
Foreword
I have always had the deepest respect for Joni Eareckson Tada even though I have never met her in person. I have heard her talk, listened to her on the radio, purchased her artworkactually it was my wifeand read her books. She has lived with a disability for over forty years and has done it with faith and hope. She is one remarkable person! Ten years ago I went from respecting her to becoming a fellow pilgrim with her. Ten years ago I was diagnosed with ALSalso known as Lou Gehrigs disease. It is an incurable and fatal disease. The doctors gave me two to five years to live and most of that would be in a disabled condition. The disease robs the nerves of their ability to work and so the muscles quit working. The future is about wheelchairs, feeding tubes, and breathing assistance. Like Joni, I have outlived the doctors predictions. So I was excited to read A Place of Healing.
