Last week was Shark Week on the Discovery Channel. One story in particular caught our attention. A man who says he was BLESSED by a bite from a 12 foot tiger shark. Todd Murashige, Hawaii Surfing State Champion, lived 15 minutes away from a popular surfing beach in Hawaii. Todd admits he was addicted to surfing. Every evening he sacrificed time with his family to be out on the ocean riding waves. One evening his surfing routine and the tiger shark feeding schedule collided. As he sat waiting for a wave, a tiger shark sunk its teeth into his leg and would not let go. After struggling a few moments, Todd was able to free his leg from the sharks mouth. He quickly paddled to shore only to realize a large part of his thigh muscle was missing and he was bleeding severely. Thankfully there was another surfer nearby who ran to help Todd and called 911. Todd gathered enough strength to make a phone call to his wife. He told her, “I love you!” His wife realized quickly that he was hurt and he was calling to say “Goodbye”.
Doctors who treated Todd said he was lucky to be alive, but said he would never walk or surf again. In the 2 months that followed the shark bite, Todd did a lot of thinking and praying. He realized how much he had neglected his family and how he was putting surfing as the first priority in his life. Todd decided to make a real life change by spending more time with his family and also going back to church to strengthen his relationship with God. Todd believes that God used the shark bite as a wake up call and His wife and children enjoy the change!
Today Todd has proved the doctors wrong. He is surfing again, but he only goes to the beach WITH his family.
Although God used a traumatic experience in Todd’s life to help him re-organize his priorities and to grow in his faith, many people just need a little reminder to help them check their priorities.
Go to www.familylife.com and click on Newsletters, sign up for the FREE Family Room eNewsletter. Find out how to make the most of your family time and make sure it stays a top priority by providing encouragement delivered to your inbox twice each month. Or check out some of the other eNewsletters available through FamilyLife.
No comments:
Post a Comment