Bethany Hamilton

Every year there are thousands of shark attacks around the world. In 2003 one in particular stood out to me. It happened to a girl who was only thirteen. That girl was Bethany Hamilton.

Bethany was born in Kauai, Hawaii on February 8, 1990. She currently lives in  Hanalei, Kauai, Hawaii.

It was on October 31, in 2003 when the attack happened. She was surfing on the North shore of Kauai when the shark bit her arm. Only a month later Bethany got back in the water and started to surf again. She is a strong believer in Christ and trusts him to help her work through things in life that might be hard to get past. Eventually, Bethany learned that she could surf by putting on a single strap in the middle of her board. That helped Bethany go under the waves without losing it. Soon after, they found the shark that almost took her life. It was a 14 foot tiger shark.

Bethany Hamilton influenced my life in several ways. She trusted God no matter what and knew that she could rely on Him. That is really cool to me because she kept trying and never gave up. Even without an arm Bethany did the impossible. She kept trying new things to surf again, and it eventually worked. She trusted that God would help he through this situation, and He did. She made a difference in my life by helping me trust God even when it seems like nothing will help, but by trusting God you can do the impossible or unthinkable, just like Bethany did.