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Unshakeable Faith
November 23, 2003
I read an article on Bethany Hamilton
this past Friday, and this young girl's unshakeable faith even in the
most devastating moments in her life, has totally and completely
touched my heart. In so many ways, Bethany is so similar to
Rachel and the way Rachel let Jesus simply live through her
life. I found this following article, and it just brought me to
tears at the faith and courage this young lady has and how she is
handling this whole situation, and really just allowing a bad
situation to be turned around for God's glory and His purpose.
I pray as you read this article you will be just as blessed as I was.
- Mike
Faith-driven
Bethany
Holds her
family together
By Jan Ten
Bruggencate
Advertiser Kaua'i Bureau
 HANALEI, Kaua'i — Bethany Hamilton was pretty much a
regular 13-year-old Hanalei surfer girl — albeit one of the best young
surfers in the country — but when a tiger shark bit off her arm Oct.
31, everything regular about her changed.
A cheerful teenager,
she has lots of friends and a devoutly Christian family that attends
the North Shore Christian Church, which holds services in a big tent.
Her parents are longtime island residents and surfers from the working
class — father Tom waits tables and mother Cheri cleans apartments.
Brothers Noah and Tim, 21 and 17, have been protective and
supportive of Bethany, and in some ways uplifted by their injured
sister.
"She has given me the strength to keep focused with all that is on our
family shoulders right now," Noah Hamilton wrote. "She has held our
family together with her profound words, scriptures and constant
smiles."
Bethany became an instant icon, an international celebrity — not only
because she'd lost her arm to a shark, but because of who she was
before it happened, and who she still appeared to be. In some ways,
she was like any wave-addicted kid in a surfing community. In others,
she was just a really nice kid.
"She was a typical 13-year-old surf teenager in Hanalei — get up in
the morning, look at the waves, look at the weather report, go out
surfing," said Steve Cranston, a friend of the family for years, and a
sales representative for Rip Curl, the firm that was Hamilton's chief
sponsor.
Bethany had a sponsor because she was a powerful, fearless force on a
surfboard, twisting her body to torque the board, and tossing up
roostertails of whitewater. Along the way, she impressed judges,
placing second in her age group in a national surf contest in
California this summer, and ranking with the best open female surfers
in Hawaii.
A young surfer named Matt recalls on Bethany's Web site how impressed
he was by her talent when he saw her at a South Kaua'i surf break
called PK's.
"We saw Bethany
surfing and she was doing huge snaps off the lip and ripping ... she
kills it harder than me and some of my friends," he said.
In contrast to all that power on the water is the sensitive, playful
little girl with plenty of faith.
"Bethany brightens the world wherever she goes," wrote a friend
named Carla. She recalled Bethany and her best friend Alana Blanchard
drawing an image of Spongebob Squarepants in the sand.
"Then they paddled out to the bay leaving sponge bob and I on the
shore to watch. It was a simple moment that made me smile and laugh,"
Carla wrote.
Sarah Hill, the youth leader at
Bethany's church,
said Bethany was impressive in how she stood up for people who were
being left out.
"She didn't like people being picked on," Hill said. "If there's any
kids being left out, she
would take care of that kid, stand up for that kid.
If it was a new girl, she'd go and be with her. She didn't need to be
in a clique. Wherever she was was cool."
Bethany
suffered a life-threatening injury while surfing with friends at
Tunnels reef in Ha'ena. It was 7:30 a.m. in clear water and small
surf. A tiger shark — estimated at 14 feet long and a ton in weight
from its bite marks on her board — bit off her left arm, leaving just
four inches of her upper arm bone.
Friends said she lost half her body's blood supply. Her best friend's
father, Holt Blanchard, applied a tourniquet made of a surfboard leash
and stopped the bleeding. She was in surgery twice, once to clean the
wound and once to close it.
And as soon as she could walk the halls of the hospitals, she was
visiting other patients, offering hope and support, hospital officials
said.
Her brother and a family friend both insist that the first words
Bethany spoke after getting out of surgery — unprompted — were that
she believed the injury would make her a more effective voice for
Christ, and that this pleased her.
Her pastor, Kahu Stephen Thompson of the North Shore Christian Church,
has known her for a little more than five years. He said that before
the incident, Bethany was a playful child with a chronic positive
attitude. He has spoken with Bethany since the attack, and sees a
strengthened faith in her.
"I think she's always had a heart for God," he said. "I have the
feeling that the experience she's gone through has brought this out
even more. She had that faith and that hope all along, but it seems to
have increased."
He said her family, friends and fellow church members know she will
have tough times as the reality of the loss of her arm sinks in, but
that they are ready to support her through any crisis.
Blanchard said he believes
Bethany
has the strength to get through it.
Bethany's brothers and friends set up a Web site for her at
www.bethanyhamilton.com
In its first four days it got 50,000 visits, despite a spam
attack that shut the site down for several hours.
In less than a week, the number of e-mails was approaching 10,000. A
girl named Krissy in
New York wrote: "From a city that knows tragedy like no other, us
New Yorkers send our support to you. Hope you are back on your board
real soon."
Michael W. Smith
November 3, 2003
Hey everyone. Well, it sure has been quiet a while since
anything has been done with this journal. I do apologize for the
delay, things have just been hectic in my life lately. But never
fear, I am here now.
This whole past month of October, was very challenging in several
areas of my life. Toward the end of this month I was just really
ready for a little break. I got this break the other day (Nov 1) when I
got to see Michael W. Smith along with Mercy Me in concert.
What a great show. And I didn't
just go there to see some person sing. To me it was a very
powerful evening. I had been praying that week before for God to
just touch my heart. There have been some areas in my life that
just has not been right.
I arrived around 3 PM, and got to take
in the sites of San Antonio, Texas. The downtown area where the
Municipal Auditorium is located at is very beautiful and a big tourist
attraction. After walking around for some time and just being a
"tourist" I waited at the entrance of the auditorium. I met
several of people in Michael's "fan club" thing called Friends
On-Line. We talked as we waited and just the fact of talking
with fellow believers and stuff was a great blessing. There were
a few there that I really kind of wondered if they were believers or
not but that's a whole other can of worms which I will not open.
 I
was blessed with the opportunity of meeting Michael W. Smith.
What a great blessing. Out of all the people in Contemporary
Christen Music, Michael's music has been the most influence and
encouraging in my walk with the Lord. God has used his music to
really just bring me closer to Him. And for a brief moment I was
blessed with the opportunity to shake this wonderful man of God's hand
and simply say thank you for being true to God's calling upon his
life.
One would think that this would be the
highlight of the evening. It was a great blessing yes, but not
the highlight. There is no greater thing then when God speaks to
your heart. I thoroughly enjoyed the show and God really just
spoke to my heart. It was toward the end of the show that God's
power just came upon me. As he sang the song "breath" I noticed
this young little girl about 8, stand to her feet, and just lift her
hands up to the Lord and was just worshiping Him with everything with
in her. That just blew me away. All the junk I'd been
dealing with, all the "stuff" just melted away and God just came upon
me. That simple child like faith, reaching up to God with
everything with in her, just knocked me to my knees. At that
point I really began to worship God, I didn't care who was to my left,
who was to my right, or in back of me, I didn't even care that I was
seeing Michael W, it was all me and God. There is nothing quiet
like having God's spirit all over you and just having his presences
work and heal your heart. There are no words in the English
language.
He ended his concert with the song "This
is your time." As he preformed this song, tears came, and I jus
sat there and cried like a baby. My thoughts went to Rachel as
he sang this song and I just wept. Again God really dealt with
some items, mainly priorities and God gave me a renewed vision and
calling in regards to Rachel's legacy and memory!
So I just wanted to share this little
bit of blessing that I had on Saturday. I hope you enjoyed it.
I am still going to be going out to Colorado next year. I am
shooting for May.
Anyways, God bless and have a wonderful
week!
Summer 2003
August 12, 2003
Happy number 22 Rachel. I know I'm
a little late in getting to this but I hope you'll forgive me. I
know you've been watching down on me and you've been seeing all the
great things that have been happening over these past few month, not
just in my life but in my friends lives that I have been trying to
witness to. I know that you must have been rejoicing along with your
heavenly Father and the angels on this special day of Aug 5th. I
long for the day when one day we can celebrate your birthday together.
Thanks for being my guiding light and inspiration. Happy
Birthday Rachel, I love you!!!!
It's been a while since doing a journal entry. July was a whirl
wind of events. I was out of town a high percentage of July
visiting family and traveling. It was a wonderful blessing being
able to spend time with family and not only that be taught by God some
things. It was not only a blessing but a learning experience.
There were several high lights of this summer. One of the
biggest one's was the Michael W. Smith show I attended in July.
At the time I was going though some struggles. The show was a
complete door opener. It was awesome just being able to praise
God, and not only that to do this with my brother and his wife.
It was an incredible blessing. The underline thing that God
spoke to my heart during that show was to be humble and find people to
pour your lives into. I have found this one person that I am
doing just that. A young girl I met several months ago, I'm just
trying to live the life and show her Jesus through my life.
Another really cool thing is I gave a
copy of Rachel's Tears to this young girl at my brother's church in
May. During my visit last month, I was talking to her and she
mentioned how much she liked it. It was a true blessing to my
heart to hear that and to know that she was blessed by the book.
I learned what it means to truly repent
of a certain sin. To completely break down, and repent and turn
away from it. I'm sure we've all been there. There's this
certain repeating sin that we do, and no matter how much we try and
repent of it, we some how slip back into it. God delivered me of
my certain repeating sin.
My summer has pretty much winded down.
I got home last Thursday and am now home for a while. The fall
also looks to be a pretty busy time. I start back to college
this month and then October will have some traveling back to Oklahoma
along with the Holidays in November and December. Then as next
year comes, planning for my next Littleton trip will begin. The
plan is to go in April during the week of April 20th and stay
hopefully a week, Lord willing.
Anyways, I want to thank you all who
visit this site. It touches my heart to know that this site is
being used of God to bless people's lives. Hope everyone had a
wonderful and blessed summer as I have. God bless each of you.
Till next entry!
It is Well With My
Soul
June 15, 2003 Today in
Church, during the evening service, one of the church members, Mark
Watt, sang the classic hymn,
"It is Well With My Soul." Before he sang it, he talked about
how his 4 month old daughter, Kadeesh, was diagnosed with a rare form
of illness.
Chances are (unless God heals her) she will not live to see
her 6th birthday. I sat there and thought, wow, and I through I
was going though trails and issues.
Earlier today as I drove to the
morning service, it was raining and storming. I was angry
because my truck's roof was leaking due to some rust in the roof.
I had spent time last week trying to seal the roof with silicon as a
temporary solution till I could get enough money saved to have it
repaired. However despite my best efforts, it still leaked like
Niagara Falls in my cab. I was upset about this the entire
service and let it get to me and I really didn't get anything out of
the service, except just wondering if when I opened my truck's door
after the service if a bunch of water would come rushing out. I was up
set and in a bad mood all day because of this.
Anyways, going back to Mark,who
sang the hymn. After explaining his situation, he talked about
the song and he sang the song
and it just touched my heart as he sang it. I really felt God
speak to my heart through this song. I mean I've heard it
before. Anyone who goes to church or has been brought up in the
church should know it. So later this evening I looked up
the history behind the song and what I found brought me to tears.
The story behind the song and lyrics are below:
Horatio G. Spafford was known
as a sincere, devout Christian. He was the father of four daughters,
an active member of the Presbyterian church, and a loyal friend and
supporter of D. L. Moody and other evangelical leaders of his day.
In November 1873, Spafford decided to take his entire family to
Europe for a vacation, intending also to assist Moody in his
evangelistic work once he arrived there. However, Spafford was
unexpectedly detained in Chicago due to urgent business concerns,
but decided to send his family aboard the S.S. Ville du Harve as
scheduled. Midway through the trans-Atlantic voyage, S.S. Ville du
Harve was struck by the English vessel Loch Earn and eventually
foundered. Spafford's four daughters—Anna, eleven; Maggie, nine;
Bessie, seven; and Tanetta, two—were among the 226 who perished in
the aftermath. Mrs. Spafford, one of the few who were spared, sent
her husband the heartbreaking telegram: “Saved alone.”
Spafford immediately sailed for England to join his grief-stricken
wife. As his ship passed the approximate location where his
daughters had drowned, his deep sorrow mingled with his unwavering
faith in God's goodness caused him to compose the following hymn.
When peace like a river
attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot Thou hast taught me to say,
“It is well, it is well with my soul!”
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought—
My sin, not in part, but the whole,
Is nailed to His Cross, and I bear it no more;
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend –
“Even so, it is well with my soul”
For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live;
If dark hours about me shall roll
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
See a
photo of the original piece of paper that Spafford wrote
the song on.
Probably very few, like
Spafford, are able to maintain their faith in the face of such
devastating bereavement without spiritually faltering. The natural
tendency of one confronted with such senseless tragedy would surely
be to question, to doubt, to blame, to accuse God. Yet this hymn
reveals a person who had been graced by God to mourn without
bitterness, to sorrow without anger, to trust without resentment, to
rest in the peace of Christ which surpasses every man's
understanding (Phil. 4:6). The remarkable faith exhibited by the
author of this hymn is the same precious faith allotted to all the
believers (2 Peter 1:1) which enables them to believe steadfastly as
the author did, that all things work together for good to those who
love God and to those who are called according to His purpose (Rom.
8:28).
God really spoke to my heart as I
read the story behind this classic hymn. To have such an
unshakable faith in God, even after losing 4 daughters, is just an
incredible inspiration to me. I thought of Darrell and his loss
of Rachel, and still despite the pain and sorrow of losing her, he
still remained faithful to God and His call on his life.
The story just gave me an eye opener.
Instead of worrying about my truck, or this or that situation in my
life, I should just give it all to God and trust in Him no matter
what. Getting worried, freaked out, and upset over stuff,
especially the small stuff in life, only drives up your blood pressure
and is not good for you. God has been dealing with me in this
area of my life. Which is not letting the small stuff get to me,
but giving it to God and trusting in Him. Even Rachel would tell
this to her friends, "don't sweat the small stuff." I really
should take her advice sometimes.
Anyways, for my first journal entry
back home, I figured I'd share this with you. Till next entry!
God bless!
I ask that you keep
Mark Watt and his daughter,
Kadeesh in your prayers, that God would give them strength during this
trying time and that God would heal their daughter in JESUS NAME!!
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