Topics:<\/b> Dependence on God; Experiencing God; Grace; Happiness; Joy; Prayer; Strength; Weakness<\/p>\n
References:<\/b> 2 Corinthians 12:8\u201310; Philippians 4:13<\/p>\n
Honesty is always the best policy, especially when you are surrounded by women in a restroom during a break at a Christian women\u2019s conference. One woman, putting on lipstick, said, \u201cOh, Joni, you always look so together, so happy in your wheelchair. I wish that I had your joy!\u201d Several women around her nodded. \u201cHow do you do it?\u201d she asked as she capped her lipstick.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t do it,\u201d I said. \u201cMay I tell you honestly how I woke up this morning?<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is an average day. After my husband, Ken, leaves for work at 6:00 a.m., I\u2019m alone until I hear the front door open at 7:00 a.m. That\u2019s when a friend arrives to get me up. While she makes coffee, I pray, \u2018Lord, my friend will soon give me a bath, get me dressed, sit me up in my chair, brush my hair and teeth, and send me out the door. I don\u2019t have the strength to face this routine one more time. I have no resources. I don\u2019t have a smile to take into the day. But you do. May I have yours? God, I need you desperately.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo what happens when your friend comes into the bedroom?\u201d one of them asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI turn my head toward her and give her a smile sent straight from heaven. It\u2019s not mine; it\u2019s God\u2019s.\u201d I point to my paralyzed legs. \u201cWhatever joy you see today was hard won this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
I have learned that the weaker we are, the more we need to lean on God; and the more we lean on God, the stronger we find him to be.<\/p>\n
\u2014Joni Eareckson Tada, \u201cJoy Hard Won,\u201d Decision<\/i> (March 2000)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Topics: Dependence on God; Experiencing God; Grace; Happiness; Joy; Prayer; Strength; Weakness References: 2 Corinthians 12:8\u201310; Philippians 4:13 Honesty is always the best policy, especially when you are surrounded by women in a restroom during a break at a Christian women\u2019s conference. One woman, putting on lipstick, said, \u201cOh, Joni, you always look so together, … Continue reading “A
\n SMILE FROM HEAVEN”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6359"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6359\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}