Surfing Past Setbacks
Bethany Hamilton was a rising star in the world of surfing. Born and raised in Hawaii, she showed exceptional talent from a young age, winning her first surf competition at just eight years old. Her dream was to become a professional surfer, but a life-changing event tested her determination.
At the age of 13, while surfing off Kauai’s North Shore, Bethany was attacked by a 14-foot tiger shark. She lost her entire left arm in the attack, a devastating blow to anyone, let alone someone whose life revolved around surfing. Doctors told her that her surfing career was likely over. Most people would have given up on their dream in the face of such adversity.
But not Bethany.
Just one month after the attack, she was back in the water, determined to relearn how to surf with one arm. She faced immense physical and emotional challenges, including balancing on the board, paddling with one arm, and overcoming the fear of another shark attack. Despite these obstacles, she refused to give up. Through relentless practice and innovation, she adapted her surfing style and worked tirelessly to improve.
In less than two years, Bethany achieved what many thought was impossible. She won her first national surfing title, proving that persistence, grit, and determination could overcome even the most daunting setbacks. Today, she is not only a professional surfer but also an inspirational speaker, author, and advocate, inspiring millions with her story of resilience.
Persistence isn’t just about achieving goals, it’s about refusing to let setbacks define you. Bethany’s determination to overcome her physical limitations and fulfill her dream of surfing shows that persistence can turn even the most challenging situations into opportunities for growth and triumph.
"Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us" (Romans 5:3-5, ESV).
"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing" (James 1:2-4, ESV).
Be A Pest
Some of us, especially we older people, remember the Marx Brothers, Chico, Groucho and Harpo. On a visit to New York, Harpo Marx was bombarded by requests from various charities to appear at their benefits. After one particularly persistent woman had called him a dozen times in two days, Harpo reluctantly agreed to appear at an event for her charity. She offered to personally escort him to the event. As they were leaving Harpo's hotel room, the telephone began to ring. "Don't you want to go back and answer it?" she asked. "Why bother?" Harpo replied wearily. "It's undoubtedly you again."
A Canaanite woman begged Jesus to cure her daughter, who she believed was troubled by a demon. Jesus seems to ignore her plea. But she doesn’t give up. She keeps asking Jesus for his help. Finally, due to her persistence, Jesus cured her daughter.
We should be like the woman who pestered Jesus. We should be like the woman who pestered Harpo Marx. I remember a friend of mine always saying: "Pray like a pest. Give Jesus no rest!”
"Then Jesus said to her, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed at that moment" (Matthew 15:28).
Overcoming The Past
Backstage at the circus, motivational speaker Jim Donovan noticed that the elephants were kept in place by nothing stronger than a thin rope that tied one leg to a stake in the ground. Puzzled, Donovan asked one of the trainers what prevented these powerful animals from just snapping the rope and running away.
The answer? Raised in captivity, the animals are held like that from an early age when they're much smaller and weaker. They get so accustomed to the fact that they can't break the rope that they eventually quit trying. When they're full grown, they never attempt to pull themselves free.
Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging on to a belief that we cannot do something simply because we failed at it before. Have you avoided trying something new because of a limiting belief? Worse, how many of us are being held back by someone else's limiting beliefs?
Don't let yourself be held prisoner by beliefs and expectations that are no longer true—if they ever were.
"No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it,but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead" (Philippians 3:13).