PHOTO EPISTLES #22- Perseverance

Growing up as a teen, I used to love to head to the beach with my friends to surf most weekends. Some of the fondest memories I have in my life are from those days. To this day I still wear my Vans everyday and I’m a sucker for a good surf movie. Night before last another friend of mine about my age, who still is an incredible surfer himself, joined me to go see “Soul Surfer”. The movie is about Bethany Hamilton who at the start of her pro career in her teens, was attacked by a 14-foot tiger shark, which bit off her left arm and ate most of her surfboard. Bethany leaned into this wave and her faith in Jesus Christ as she had to learn how to surf without her left arm. Not only did she do this, but she shocked the pro surfing world by returning to competitive surfing. In 2007, Jesus gave Bethany her dream back, when she turned pro and began participating in numerous Association of Surfing Professionals and World Tour Events. Her major highlight so far is a second place finish in the ASP 2009 World Junior Championships. The movie is a great movie to see! My friend, who does not know Christ, was visibly moved by both the story and the message of Christ.

I’m sure Bethany would like to have her arm back, but with her arm, I doubt any of us would know her name, not to mention being pointed towards Christ by her response to her own tragic story. It seems like our most powerful witness does not include words alone, rather how we handle our trials in life. I have found that the lost are really moved and perplexed when they see Christians respond to trials with joy and are not brought down, but instead persevere! One of the scriptures that has carried me like a big wave during my own many trials is in James 1: 12  “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.“.

the Jesusfreak