Bethany Hamilton, the pro-surfer who lost her arm in a shark attack at the age of 13, had some words of encouragement for Christian girls on Saturday.
She was one of the guest speakers at the Anchored in Love day conference at Maranatha Chapel in San Diego, and spoke about where she draws her strength for living from.
"I believe God's gift for us of forgiveness and salvation is something that is so consistent and perfect, and it's all that we really need and no matter where we are at in life, we can cling to that and know that God accepts us as we are," she said.
She also spoke about the life-changing shark attack she survived in 2003 and how it drove her to re-learn surfing without her left arm.
"For me, my fear of losing surfing was greater than losing my arm," she admitted. "I could live life without my arm but surfing was a whole other story and I think God gave me this passion [for surfing] for a reason and it was part of his plan."
Rather than being hindered by the loss of one arm, Hamilton has thrived in surfing and earlier this year won the Surf 'n' Sea Pipeline Women's Pro.
"You can kind of be your own artist on waves and ... I'm kind of an adrenalin junkie," she shared.
"As hard as surfing is with one arm it's also doable and I just needed 'possible'," she added.
Hamilton is a committed Christian and her story was turned into the movie, Soul Surfer, in 2011 starring Dennis Quaid, Helen Hunt and AnnaSophia Robb, with Carrie Underwood playing a minor role.
While she has had so much success at such a young age, Hamilton credited her faith with keeping her grounded.
"I have good and bad days, and I have my struggles just like you do, and I need to keep my hope and trust in the same gift that's available for all of us," she said.
Watch the interview in full and others from the Anchored in Love conference below:
