June 29

I don’t know if you have seen the movie Soul Surfer, I took my daughter to see it yesterday and we both enjoyed it. The setting of the movie was absolutely gorgeous, it is in Hawaii, how could it not be, right? I love the beach and ocean so that added to the experience for me. The movie has a good story to it, especially for pre-teens and teenage kids. It is based off a true story of a young girl that lost her arm from a shark attack in 2004; I can vaguely remember it happening. The young girl in the movie had to overcome the trials of not having two arms, but also had to struggle with why this would happen to her. She questioned it several times and asked several different people to help her try and figure it out. She did manage to surf again, one struggle accomplished and then after failing at a competition quit. She then went on a mission trip to Thailand after a tsunami hit and devastated that country. It was on this trip that she truly began to realize the bigger purpose and picture for herself. She helped a little boy who had not spoke since the tsunami and got him on a surfboard that she borrowed, a milestone for both of them. After returning back to Hawaii she started to train to surf again in another competition. This time she went about it differently, it wasn’t about winning; it was just about going out there and giving it your best even if it wasn’t going to be first place. She allowed her faith to start taking control of her life rather then trying to control it herself. Surfing was not her life and she wasn’t put here for that purpose, she realized that her accident was a way for her to connect and embrace others and show them the love she has in her heart.