VICKY OLIVAS When Life Isn’t Fair
DISABILITY CAN SOMETIMES ENTER OUR LIVES like a thief in the night. One minute we’re fine, the next we’re encased in a tangled web of metal with a body that will never be the same. Or, a routine check-up turns into a life-changing diagnosis in a matter of minutes. How we respond partly depends on what we believe about God.
When Vicky Olivas was a single mother with a young son, she faced some difficult circumstances. She needed a better job in order to provide a better life for her family. When an employment agency called with a promising interview, she jumped at the chance. In reality, the potential boss was a calculating predator whose only agenda was to lure Vicky into a dark warehouse and attack her.
Vicky fought back and was shot. She instinctively called out to God, “Please, don’t let me die, please!” She lived, but the bullet lodged in her spine, leaving her a quadriplegic. Vicky would never walk again, drive a car, or be able to care for herself—let alone her then eighteen-month-old son.
Initially, Vicky refused to cooperate with her therapy or learn to live with such limited mobility. She tried every potion and prayer under the sun, but to no avail. Eventually, she put life on hold altogether, deciding to wait for God to heal her.
God was able to use Joni’s life to birth new hope for this young mother
Christian friends convinced Vicky to participate in a Bible study group with Joni Eareckson Tada. Vicky was inspired by the full life that Joni enjoyed in spite of her quadriplegia. Those same friends waded through deep discussions on God’s sovereignty and the fact that while he could heal Vicky, no one knew when or if it would happen. They pointed out that she was missing precious moments with her son in the meantime.
Vicky’s friends were willing to come alongside her to offer comfort and point her back to the source of all comfort (1:3). God was able to use Joni’s life to birth new hope for this young mother. Paul teaches us that God wants to minister to every person and then use each of us—even our pain, our struggles, and our disabilities—to minister to others.