More than a Conqueror: A Profile of Jerry Ediger
As the final bell marks the end of a bright fall week at Westminster Christian Academy, its halls frame a barrage of scuffling feet, rustling bags, and their collective surge toward the main exit. A horde of middle schoolers has formed, and only its dispersion makes the 54-year-old man in the wheelchair visible. Flanked on all sides by middle school students eagerly chatting with him, Jerry Ediger emerges from the mob as he happily maneuvers his chair to match the pace of their clomping feet.
The joyous, famed and familiar smile spreading across his face has been the hallmark of the halls of Westminster for 19 years. If their walls could talk, they’d likely agree with Head of School Jared Clark in saying, “I have never seen Jerry have a bad day.”
There are no signs of that trend of joy changing. Mr. Ediger thanks the day he claims to be the among best of his life for that: Nov.18, 1983.
On that chilly evening in Nebraska, the 17-year-old Jerry was on the Henderson Huskies’ starting lineup heading into the state high school football championship game. His C4 and C5 vertebrae were fractured in the opening kickoff’s aftermath, and along with their health went any hopes of playing or walking again.
“I think all the time the Lord uses trials to build perseverance and character and hope because that’s what He promises to do…He will give it to us through all the events in our life, including this, you know, breaking my neck,” said Ediger as he reminisced about the incident.
Over the next 37 years, he has attended and graduated college, moved between states, worked multiple jobs and started a family with Amy, his wife of 22 years.
Currently, Ediger is a Bible teacher at Westminster Christian Academy and serves as the Associate Pastor of North Avenue Church in Athens, Georgia. His impact on the community is palpable. “He keeps up with hundreds of people,” said lead pastor at North Avenue Church Mark McAndrew, “he is keeping up with the events of their lives and he cares about them and remembers everything.”
Through the years, Ediger has recovered some of his physical mobility. His common boasting is that he now has enough upper body movement to “write and eat and drive recklessly.” However, Ediger’s challenges have not left him. The rare, pitiless combination of diabetes and spinal paralysis continues to present frequent medical complications and bar him from further recovery.
The faith and confidence that Ediger shows amidst difficulties unfaced and unimagined by most people are cited by Jason Myers, a longtime friend, to be the a fruitful reminder in his own struggles. “You might be having a bad day, and you remember what Jerry said…His outlook is always so positive. It has never been, ‘Poor pitiful me,' here is a quadriplegic and he’s saying, “you know, it could be worse.’”
Ediger and his wife Amy openly attribute the joy he shows in the midst of his hardships to God’s grace towards them both.
“The challenge is real and the sadness is real but the faith is steadfast,” Mrs. Ediger simply stated. “He proves it true. He lives what he says and stands by what he believes.”
That trusting joy has made Jerry the friend of many, counselor to more, and an example for all.
Few people have seen more of that joy than Dr. Steve Crouse, Westminster’s high school principal. He is one of the seven men who volunteer one morning each week to “get up in the 4’s” in order to arrive at Jerry’s house at five in the morning to assist with his physical needs for the day.
“I hope the Lord makes my back strong for many years so I can continue to serve him,” Dr. Crouse said. “I don’t want to miss my time with Jerry…I get discipled for about an hour once a week by Jerry and all I have to do is show up at his house and help him get ready for the day. What a great privilege.”
Ediger frequently cites Romans 8:28 as his anthem. Those who know him best know all the more that the Bible’s teaching about God’s control over and purpose in suffering pierces every area of his life.
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.” -Rom. 8:28
“Those verses are what his life is all about; you can’t understand him without understanding Romans chapter 8,” exclaimed McAndrew, who also teaches at Westminster and is a former student of Ediger’s. The two share a friendship spanning well over a decade. “He’s the most genuinely humble, loving, caring person I think I’ve ever met in my life.”
Ediger’s deeply entrenched faith makes him see going to work as an opportunity to show what sustains him to students and superiors alike.
“People are just naturally intrigued with a wheelchair…I just hope that it gives an opportunity; makes it easier to relate with other people who are possibly walking through some sort of trial,” he said. “God comforts us so that we can comfort others.”
