{"id":14555,"date":"2023-11-14T11:20:37","date_gmt":"2023-11-14T16:20:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/?p=14555"},"modified":"2023-11-14T14:03:55","modified_gmt":"2023-11-14T19:03:55","slug":"bethany-hamilton-visits-site-of-shark-attack-20-years-later-grateful-to-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/2023\/11\/bethany-hamilton-visits-site-of-shark-attack-20-years-later-grateful-to-god.html","title":{"rendered":"Bethany Hamilton Visits Site of Shark Attack 20 Years Later: ‘Grateful to God’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Jaguar PS\/Shutterstock.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Pro-surfer Bethany Hamilton recently visited the place where a shark attacked her and took her left arm 20 years ago. She captioned the three photos on Instagram, \u201c20 years later, this was the location of my shark incident as a 13-year-old girl.\u201d Her story was portrayed in the film \u201cSoul Surfer.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the first, 13-year-old Hamilton stands in the spot of the attack and holds a surfboard with a huge chunk bitten out of it and her left arm gone. The second and third photos show her now with a whole surfboard, wearing an identical swimsuit to the one she wore at 13 years old.<\/p>\n

In the third photo, she smiles confidently. The surfer said, \u201cI\u2019m in awe of how much God has made beauty out of something so scary and so awful. When we face challenges, it can be hard to have hope beyond our chaos, but it is essential.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hamilton continued, \u201cI hope that my life can be a hint of hope for you in the challenges that you face. I see the challenges along the way as a call to live in faith and to trust in God to carry me through it all! I\u2019m so grateful to God for his faithfulness.\u201d Despite losing her arm, Hamilton became one of the world\u2019s best surfers. She now celebrates her life and acknowledges how the attack changed her future for the better.<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Bethany Hamilton (@bethanyhamilton)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n