Growing Through Perseveranceনমুনা

NOT "WHY ME?" BUT "WHAT FOR?"

You could forgive Bethany Hamilton if she gave in to discouragement. An ambitious young girl, she was well on her way to fulfilling her dream of becoming a professional surfer. But in an instant, everything – including her life – was nearly gone.

At age 13, while surfing off the shores of Hawaii, Bethany was attacked by a fourteen-foot tiger shark. Her left arm was severed below the shoulder. She lost more than half her blood, and in the days that followed, she endured numerous surgeries. Bethany was fortunate to have survived, and everyone logically assumed her hopes of becoming a professional surfer were over. Even Bethany initially seemed resigned to the reality that she’d lost her arm and, with it, one of her greatest passions.

It was a bleak picture. And, as I said, you could forgive Bethany if she felt overwhelmed with dismay. Which makes her choice to not give in to negativity all the more remarkable. With the help of her faith in God, Bethany overcame seemingly insurmountable odds and was back on a surfboard less than a month after the attack.

Country music star Carrie Underwood, one of the cast members of the movie based on Bethany’s life, said, “She didn’t say, ‘Why me?’ She said, ‘What for?’ What can I do with this?” Bethany herself says, “From what seemed like such a horrible thing, God has brought glory to Himself through me.” Since the accident, Bethany has been a role model to people across the globe for a lot more than her surfing skills. She’s inspired young and old alike to trust God through their adversity. Just as the Apostle Paul detailed in his second letter to the Corinthian church, when our greatest weakness is yielded to Christ, He can transform it into one of our greatest strengths.