The Woman Everyone Counted Out
In 1967, seventeen-year-old Joni Eareckson broke her neck in a diving accident in the Chesapeake Bay. In an instant, she became a quadriplegic — unable to move from the shoulders down.
The world had assumptions about what her life would look like. Romance was not on the list.
A "Boring Sermon" That Changed Everything
Joni met Ken Tada at church during what she later described as a particularly boring sermon. He was sitting in the pew in front of her. Through a series of what seemed like coincidences, they kept running into each other — at church events, through mutual friends, in hallways.
Ken asked her out. Not despite her disability — without treating it as a barrier.
A First Date With a Leg Bag
Their first date was at the movies. At one point, Ken helped Joni empty her leg bag behind a tree in the parking lot. They laughed about it afterward. That moment — unglamorous, real, and strangely tender — set the tone for everything that followed.
When concerned friends suggested they spend a weekend together to "see what they were getting into," both refused. Their shared Christian convictions mattered more than pragmatism. They dated for about a year before Ken proposed.
They married in 1982 and have been together for over four decades.
What This Means for You
Joni and Ken's story demolishes the lie that disability disqualifies you from love. God didn't just "find someone willing" — He brought a man who saw Joni as she truly was and wanted all of it.
If the world has told you that your limitations make you unlovable, Joni's life says otherwise. God writes love stories that no one expects — and they're often the best ones.