Joni Eareckson was seventeen years old in the summer of 1967 when she dove into Chesapeake Bay and hit a rock. In an instant, she was paralysed from the neck down — a quadriplegic who couldn't move her hands, couldn't dress herself, couldn't wipe her own tears.
In the months that followed, Joni wanted to die. She begged friends to help her end her life. She screamed at God. She couldn't understand how a loving God could allow a seventeen-year-old girl to lose everything.
The Young Man With Ten Words
Then she met Steve Estes. He was a teenager himself — a young man from her church who showed up with a Bible and a friendship that would last six decades. Steve didn't have fancy theology. He didn't have medical expertise. But he said something to Joni that rewired her entire understanding of suffering:
"God permits what He hates to accomplish what He loves."
Ten words. Joni said they hit her like lightning. Not because they made the pain disappear, but because they reframed everything. Her suffering wasn't random. It wasn't punishment. It was held inside a purpose bigger than she could see.
The Friendship That Built a Ministry
Steve and Joni studied the Bible together for years. They co-authored "A Step Further," wrestling with the hardest questions about why God allows suffering. Their friendship became the intellectual and spiritual foundation for everything Joni built afterward.
Joni went on to found Joni and Friends, an international ministry that has delivered over 200,000 wheelchairs to people with disabilities in developing nations. She became an author, painter (painting with a brush held in her teeth), radio host, and one of the most respected voices in Christianity.
All of it traces back to a teenager who showed up at a hospital with a Bible and ten words that changed everything.
What This Means for You
You don't need to have all the answers for your friend who's suffering. Steve Estes was a kid. But he showed up, he stayed, and he spoke truth at the exact moment it was needed. Your presence in someone's darkest hour might be the foundation of something that blesses millions. Show up. Stay. And when the moment comes, speak.