“If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.” - Psalm 91:9-12
The most terrifying day of my life started out
fairly normal. It was my last day in
South Africa and time to peel the stickers off the RV and organize our lives neatly
back into our suitcases. After touring
the fishing village of Kulk Bay, visiting penguins at Boulder’s beach, and exploring
the Cape of Good Hope, my friends and I searched for waves and found them at
Whitsands Beach. The swell delivered
crystal clear wedges offering fast, racey walls, alternating with hollow
cylinder waves. 
After about an hour, I paddled towards another
peak. I duck dived under whitewater and
noticed out of the corner of my eye what looked like a surfer in a black
wetsuit duck under the same wave. It was
strange when the surfer never surfaced, and I never saw a board. I scanned the horizon for a wave and glanced
back and saw a huge black shadow under the water a few yards away. I couldn’t make out what it was, and at first
assumed it must be a seal like we’d seen, but it was way too big, way too black,
and then I noticed black tips that didn’t belong to any type of seal. 
I glanced away to check the horizon again for a
wave and then looked back towards the mysterious creature to discover a big
black fin surface right next to me.
There was no doubt about what the creature was now, and I pulled my legs
and arms onto my board. The dark fin was
so close I could have touched it. My
heart beat wildly, and I went into shock.
Frozen in fear, I couldn’t scream or move a muscle. I just wanted to curl up and close my eyes in
hopes that when I opened them the large shark would be gone. I shut my eyes for an instant. When I looked again to my right I saw only
water, but then I looked to my left and saw the fin again and realized the
shark had circled me.
Rory was the closest surfer to me, and began
shouting, “PADDLE MISSY, PADDLE!” SHARK!
SHARK! PADDLE!”His commands stirred me to action, although I was afraid to put my hands and arms into the water. I began to paddle. A few seconds later, I glanced behind me expecting the shark to be gone and saw the black fin following close behind me. In my most horrified breath, I prayed, “God help me!”
The next moment after I began praying, Rory
yelled, “A WAVE MISSY, PADDLE, PADDLE!!!”
When I paddled for waves I always looked back at
the wave to gauge the speed to ensure I didn’t outrun the wave or miss it, but
this time I couldn’t bring myself to look back.
I simply trusted the wave was coming, and I paddled harder than I had
ever paddled and caught the wave. I
stood up and raced down the line as far away from the massive animal as I could
get. All I wanted was to put space
between us, and I couldn’t get out of the water fast enough. The wave died and I fell back down onto my
board and continued to paddle for my life.
White water rolled in next to me, and I saw Rory and then Kelly and Tim
and the other surfers rushing onto the beach.
We hugged each other once we were all on the
sand and the inevitable banter began about everyone’s perspective of the
shark. Rory was the closest to me and
had seen both of the fins, and had the horror of watching it follow after
me. He said as soon as I caught the wave
the fins disappeared. Tim and Kelly
heard Rory shout “SHARK!” and saw the fins trailing behind me. They lived a nightmare and felt trapped in
the water because as they paddled to get to shore no wave came, and they even
had to fight a small rip current.
Rory had surfed for 38 years since he started
when he was four, and he said this was the first time he had ever seen a shark
while surfing. There was no doubt it was
a great white, and no one considered going back to finish out the session.
The rest of the day I felt bursts of joy for
being alive, and I felt so grateful to have all my limbs. I thanked God for answering my three word
prayer with a wave that carried me to safety.
A week later a man was attacked while surfing in
Muizenburg, a beach in Cape Town, not too far from where I had surfed. He lost his leg. I will never know why that man lost his leg
and I was left unscathed. All I can do
is give God glory for hearing my prayer and rescuing me.
“The Lord says, ‘I will rescue those who love
me. I will protect those who trust in my
name. When they call on me, I will
answer; I will be with them in trouble.
I will rescue and honor them.”
-Psalm 91:14-15
