I was very blessed last week to have the opportunity to hear an amazing talk by Bethany Hamilton, professional surfer, author (Soul Surfer, anyone), and genuine good girl who has had a movie made of her life. And even though her talk wasn't perfect or overly eloquent, it was very real, very surfer girl chic, and had a very real point: Know Christ, Love Christ, and Trust in Christ.
She started by talking about her accident and how her deep faith helped her through it. She said she and her family had been praying for two weeks solid before the accident for God to use her in a big and mighty way to further His kingdom. And when asked if she could take back the accident, she said she wouldn't. Why? Because would we have ever known this story of faith, family, and surfing, if her accident hadn't happened. Would mainstream America heard the story of her life in the movie she and her family fought tooth and nail to be made to portray their faith? Not in a million years. She talked about how God uses all aspects of good and not so good (shark biting of your arm...which is pretty bad) to further His kingdom. She was a breath of fresh air and did say "gnarly" several times about great waves she surfed which kinda made me laugh.
She made sure all the girls in the room knew about her purity and how she knew that was important to God and she made it a priority in her life, even in the midst of living and working in the professional surfing industry which doesn't tend to lead to this type lifestyle. AND as the cherry on top, she walked in with her new husband WHO by the way was just about the cutest thing I have ever seen and I am sure just as sweet. God honors those who honor Him and he has certainly done this with Bethany Hamilton.
One of my main "take-a-ways" from her talk (and there were many), was when she was talking about her life being made into a book and movie. How surreal and just plain weird it was to have an actress play her on the big screen (and FYI, Carrie Underwood played her youth leader), and to have her life story played out for the world to see. She circled back at the end of her talk and asked the question, "What if your life was going to be a movie for all the world to see?" "What would it be about?" "What would you be doing with your time and talents?" "What bad things happened to you along the way and how did you use those bumps in the road to glorify God?" I thought about what my movie would be about and there would certainly be many many bumps in the road. But I hope it would portray someone who loves God and loves people. Someone who makes plenty of mistakes, but uses them to glorify Him in some way that only God can figure out. I want to use my gifts for God (and plant those seeds) where He wants me to use them so they can be magnified and multiplied.
Sounds like a pretty big order, but like a read a few weeks ago in my 40 day prayer challenge from Proverbs 16:9:
"In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps."
And this is what was at the end of the devotion for that day and isn't it just like God really hit the message home. It's like He was saying, "Melanie, I want you to hear this and I am going to let several people show it to you!" Here's what it said:
So then on instagram last week I stumbled upon this quote and wouldn't you know it, it went right along with Bethany's talk.
She started by talking about her accident and how her deep faith helped her through it. She said she and her family had been praying for two weeks solid before the accident for God to use her in a big and mighty way to further His kingdom. And when asked if she could take back the accident, she said she wouldn't. Why? Because would we have ever known this story of faith, family, and surfing, if her accident hadn't happened. Would mainstream America heard the story of her life in the movie she and her family fought tooth and nail to be made to portray their faith? Not in a million years. She talked about how God uses all aspects of good and not so good (shark biting of your arm...which is pretty bad) to further His kingdom. She was a breath of fresh air and did say "gnarly" several times about great waves she surfed which kinda made me laugh.
She made sure all the girls in the room knew about her purity and how she knew that was important to God and she made it a priority in her life, even in the midst of living and working in the professional surfing industry which doesn't tend to lead to this type lifestyle. AND as the cherry on top, she walked in with her new husband WHO by the way was just about the cutest thing I have ever seen and I am sure just as sweet. God honors those who honor Him and he has certainly done this with Bethany Hamilton.
One of my main "take-a-ways" from her talk (and there were many), was when she was talking about her life being made into a book and movie. How surreal and just plain weird it was to have an actress play her on the big screen (and FYI, Carrie Underwood played her youth leader), and to have her life story played out for the world to see. She circled back at the end of her talk and asked the question, "What if your life was going to be a movie for all the world to see?" "What would it be about?" "What would you be doing with your time and talents?" "What bad things happened to you along the way and how did you use those bumps in the road to glorify God?" I thought about what my movie would be about and there would certainly be many many bumps in the road. But I hope it would portray someone who loves God and loves people. Someone who makes plenty of mistakes, but uses them to glorify Him in some way that only God can figure out. I want to use my gifts for God (and plant those seeds) where He wants me to use them so they can be magnified and multiplied.
Sounds like a pretty big order, but like a read a few weeks ago in my 40 day prayer challenge from Proverbs 16:9:
"In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps."
And this is what was at the end of the devotion for that day and isn't it just like God really hit the message home. It's like He was saying, "Melanie, I want you to hear this and I am going to let several people show it to you!" Here's what it said:
He is the writer of our lives, of OUR MOVIE! We just have to let him direct it!!
So then on instagram last week I stumbled upon this quote and wouldn't you know it, it went right along with Bethany's talk.
We must recognize our own God-given talents and stories from our lives and use them for good. God wants to direct our big blockbuster and it wants to be win a heavenly Oscar!
I love that movie. I think it's one I watch every time. It would be so neat to hear her speak.
ReplyDeleteI wonder too about things like what would people say at my funeral and what would they remember... I love your posts. THey are insightful and make me nod my head. Keep it up after lent please :)