When Bethany Hamilton lost her arm in a shark attack at 13, she found herself thrust into the public eye. Her cope? Leaning on the Lord.
“I never really loved attention, and then all of a sudden, there’s all this attention on my life, and I hated it. Like I just wanted to be surfing with my friends,” Hamilton explained on the latest episode of her “All Things Possible” podcast.
“If you don’t have something that grounds you — you know, you see these celebrities coping through drugs and alcohol and various means,” she continued. “I coped through faith, through surfing, through connection with people. Definitely, my faith in God. Like I knew life wasn’t over. Like I knew there was so much more to be lived.”
Her experience became a testimony to God’s faithfulness, and many witnessed her faith and strength through the 2011 movie SOUL SURFER.
“The film’s answer to suffering is faith in Jesus Christ, not sheer willpower, and its church scenes are honest enough that they shouldn’t alienate viewers who don’t share that faith,” Movieguide®’s review reads. Movieguide® awarded SOUL SURFER a Teddy Bear Award®.
Related: Bethany Hamilton Cherishes Motherhood: ‘What a Gift’
Hamilton even went on to surf competitively again.
Since the attack, she has turned her public platform into a way to encourage others in faith, motherhood and persevering through hard times.
“You don’t have to have it all figured out to keep going. Sometimes, you just take the next step, give it another try, and trust that you are learning along the way,” Hamilton shared on Instagram last month. “Surfing has a way to teach you how to keep trying. Some waves work, some do not, and then you paddle back out and try again.”
The mom-to-four frequently speaks to other mothers as she raises her children.
“Raising a daughter is such a beautiful responsibility,” Hamilton reflected in August. “I want her to grow up knowing she doesn’t have to fit anyone else’s idea of what she should look like, be, or become. I want her to take care of her body, be grateful for what it can do, try hard things, face her fears, and know that it’s okay to fall and start again.”
“Most of all, I want her to know that she is fearfully and wonderfully made by God,” she emphasized. “I hope she grows up confident in who she is, not because the world told her she was enough, but because she knows where her worth comes from.”
Hamilton’s story is a powerful reminder that faith in God can carry us through any hardship we might face.
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