Remembering God’s Faithfulness: The Story of Joni Eareckson Tada

A few thousand years ago, when the Israelites miraculously crossed the Jordan River on dry ground and entered the promised land to make it their home, the Lord issued a curious command. He said to Joshua, “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan…and carry them with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight” (Joshua 4:2–3 NIV).

God had His people make a monument on the western shore of the Jordan out of twelve river rocks. The thing about rocks is, they last an awful long time—and that was the point. Joshua told his fellow Israelites, “In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord.… These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever” (vv. 6–7).

God wants His people to remember. He wants us to pass on the stories of His faithfulness to our children and grandchildren. Since we are prone to forgetfulness and doubt, monuments can be helpful reminders. Of course, the Bible itself is a testimony of God’s faithfulness, but there are other memorials in our midst, because God is still at work among us.

On the surface, a woman’s wheelchair might not seem like much of a monument, but when the woman sitting in it is Joni Eareckson Tada, it’s more than just a wheelchair. The Lord did a miracle in Joni’s life many years ago—a miracle that is still bearing fruit today. Now, this miracle wasn’t as obvious as, say, the Jordan River parting to let a nation pass through, but it was a beautiful and profound work of the Lord nonetheless.

When Joni was just seventeen years old, an accident nearly took her life. In the aftermath, she was left unable to walk, feed herself, or even brush her teeth. She went from being an active teenager to being dependent on others in nearly area of her life. To say that she was depressed would be an understatement.

That’s when God showed up in Joni’s story.

Now, to be fair, the Lord was always with Joni. He never left her—not when she lost feeling in her arms and legs, not when the doctors shared the diagnosis of quadriplegia, and not during the sleepless nights in her hospital bed. But when a friend challenged Joni to see that God might have a purpose for her suffering, her outlook changed. It didn’t happen all at once, but slowly Jesus transformed her tragedy into joy and replaced her sorrow with hope.

For more than fifty years, Joni has shared her story and the good news of Jesus with anyone who will listen. And in 1979, she founded Joni and Friends to spread hope to people living with disability through assistance, advocacy, and encouragement.

A generation met Joni through a book and film about her life story, as well as her many television appearances, her artwork, and her music. But there’s a new generation that does not yet know Joni or what Jesus did in her life. That’s why Joni and Friends is excited to partner with Harvest House on a new book for children. It’s called A Paintbrush for Joni: The True Story of Joni Eareckson Tada and the Savior Who Turns Tragedy into Joy.

Written so that young hearts can understand how God can use even the most difficult things in our lives for His good purposes, A Paintbrush for Joni is more than just another children’s storybook or age-appropriate biography. This beautifully illustrated book is a reminder that sometimes God permits what he hates to accomplish what He loves. In that, it’s a monument to God’s faithfulness—for this generation and the next.