By Kayla DeKraker
Bethany Hamilton knows life doesn’t always turn out as we plan, and that’s okay.
“If your life doesn’t look how you pictured it would…I’m here to remind you it’s okay,” she wrote on Instagram. “Advice from a 35-year-old who never could have imagined this would be her life.”
“I thought my life was over at 13,” she wrote over a picture of her younger self, referencing the shark attack that took her arm. “It really was just beginning because God had different plans. God took what was really painful in my life and sure made a lot of beauty from it.”
She went on to say that she didn’t think she’d ever surf competitively again, but God had other plans, and she learned “reliance, how to train harder and win competitions” with one arm.
Hamilton thought finding love would be harder after the incident, but today she enjoys a wonderful marriage built on God’s grace.
“The world would like to make you feel as if motherhood will keep you from living and keep you from doing what you love,” she wrote over a slide of a photo with her family. “While it certainly changes life, motherhood has only amplified my life and now I get to invite my children to do what I love with me and they inspire me to do new things with them.”
“Your life may not look the way you thought it would by now, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less valuable or meaningful. Trust the Lord — His plans are higher, His timing is perfect, and His ways are always better than ours,” she continued.
She then quoted Proverbs 3:5-6, which reads, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall [a]direct your paths.”
She concluded her post by saying, “Faith is leaning into God through it all and trusting that He is for our best interest! 💙”
People in the comment section resonated with Hamilton’s message.
“Thanks for being a true inspiration to so many girls around the world! You are a true role model and someone I would be proud to have my daughters look up to❤️” one person said. Another echoed, “Yes and Amen! Hope and trust in the Lord! He has great plans and makes all things work together for good!”
Earlier this year, Hamilton shared a similar message while speaking to a group of students at Liberty University.
“This was not the plan I had for my life,” she said. “There’s likely going to be things in your life that aren’t a part of your plan. So how can we turn this chaos and overwhelm into peace? How can we face adversity with resilience? How can we adapt when life gets crazy and super hard?”
She added, “One thing that can be bring peace amongst all the chaos is knowing God’s grace, His forgiveness, His peace, His love.” She said, “That is what will change you to face the adversity with a whole new level of appreciation.”
Hamilton’s life serves as a beautiful example of how God uses challenges to shape us into the person he wants us to be.
Read Next: Bethany Hamilton On Overcoming Fear: ‘God Has Overcome It All’
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