True Stories that Inspire: Bold and Beautiful

This is true account of brave girl who is just like you but she did something, which very few can do.
Joni Eareckson was the youngest of the four Eareckson sisters. They lived happily with their parents in one of the towns of America. Joni was the vibrant one always ahead of her sisters. She loved horse riding and even had her own pony named Tumbleweed. Often she would go for long rides with Tumbleweed.
When she was fifteen years of age, one day Joni did some serious thinking about her life. At one of the Christian camp that she attended she gave her life to Jesus. She was assured of her sins forgiven and then began a new journey with Jesus as her best friend for life. Life seemed so beautiful and smooth as she learnt new truths about God from her daily devotions and she enjoyed every bit of each day until one day some thing happened which totally changed the course of her life. Nothing was the same except that Jesus was still her best friend and only that gave her the strength to look at life straight on the face and live a life of contentment.
Onw of Joni’s other hobby was diving. One afternoon as she went diving with her sister Kathy and other friends. She was really good at diving and liked others to watch her dive. So every one waited to watch her great dive into the water.
Poised for the dive, Joni took a long breath and jumped. She slid into the warm silkiness of the water in a graceful curve and…………..
Joni panicked when she didn’t rise or rather she could not rise…she couldn’t move….she couldn’t breathe. Her mind was bursting with fear. Her lungs were desperate for air. And still she couldn’t rise. Her body and mind screamed for help……….
Finally when her sister rescued her, Joni to her horror could see Kathy’s arm around her but she could feel nothing. Somehow they got back to the shore.
Frantically Kathy was trying to rub Joni’s hands and legs. “ Can you feel that”? She asked.
“No”.
Then Joni felt something. It was her sister’s fingers touching her neck. Joni tried to reach out to hold Kathy’s hand but nothing happened, nothing at all.
The unbelievable had happened! At seventeen, Joni was paralyzed from neck down. All she could murmer was “the Lord is my Shepherd, the Lord is my Shepherd.” It was 30th July 1967.
The months that followed were terrible. Joni had to be strapped to the bed. Most of the part of the day she was on her back looking at the ceiling, sometime she was on one or other side facing the walls and for the rest of the day she was suspended from the bed looking at the floor. She could do nothing by herself. Some one had to wipe her face even blow her nose. Imagine not being able to go to toilet or even know when you need to go. Imagine having to be fed, having to be washed, having to have your own teeth cleaned for you.
Joni’s parents, sisters and friends did everything to help her but she had to travel through her feelings alone.
Sometimes Joni was upset about her situation and even snapped at others but one day she prayed, “ Lord Jesus, no body understands my hurt apart form you. I can only get through the days if you help me. And I just can’t imagine how I will get through life.”
Only the presence of Jesus in her heart kept her from loosing her temper, kept her insane through the months and years that went by. She took it as a challenge to live life as it was and not to allow depression and negative thoughts to crowd her mind. She never gave up on life. She was not a coward to commit suicide or any thing of that short.
As years went by she even got married to a very loving and outstanding husband who loved and cared for her. Of course people were there to help her at every thing. Do you think she a boring and worth less life? The answer is NO.
God made it possible for her to travel to different places sharing her testimony with others. Her faith was a living and personal one on the God who is Living and Personal who relates to us. In fact her faith in Lord Jesus kept her alive and not just like a vegetable but full of meaning and substance.
She learnt to paint with the mouth. She would hold the brushes with her teeth and paint such beautiful pictures, which was sold everywhere.
Years later, she is still thankful to Jesus and counts her blessings instead of brooding over what could have been.
How often do we not grumble and fret at little difficulties and huddles? Let us learn from Joni Eareckson Tada to be thankful for all blessings and to live life with the help of Jesus the best friend.
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