Bethany Hamilton likes to hang out with her friends, go to youth group, ride her horse and watch Napoleon Dynamite with her two older brothers. Most of all she loves to surf.
With long blond hair, sun-kissed skin and braces, the 15-year-old blends right in to any crowd of coastal teens. It’s easy to forget she’s missing an arm.It’s easy to forget she’s missing an arm.
Since Oct. 31, 2003, Bethany’s left arm has extended only a few inches below her shoulder, complements of a 14-foot, 1,500-pound tiger shark. She nearly died that day after the predator’s stealth attack at Tunnels, a premier surf break near Bethany’s home on the north shore of Kauai, Hawaii’s northernmost island. [See “Survivor.”]
Her survival itself captured immediate worldwide attention. And though it seemed she’d never surf again, much less fulfill her dream of going pro, Bethany stunned the world with her determination. Three and a half weeks after the attack, she stood and rode a wave again.
From the start Bethany has credited her faith in Christ as the source of her strength. Every chance she gets, Bethany keeps talking about Jesus in her soft-spoken, yet straightforward way. Although she’s become an international role model and celebrity of sorts, she’s still an ordinary teen girl — just one who understands that God uses ordinary people, teens included, to play important roles in His story.
Hawaiian Home
“One of the things I’ve learned comes from Jeremiah 29:11: ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ It tells me that God has a promise for my life and not to worry about it and try to go with the flow — even though I don’t always,” Bethany says.
I meet up with Bethany and her mom, Cheri, while I’m vacationing on Kauai. Bethany is learning to ride her new horse, Koko, and her instructor has her riding with no hands to improve balance. Bethany is getting the hang of it, even when the young horse starts bucking. There’s not much this girl won’t try, with or without two arms.
The scene is amazing: The red-dirt riding arena set among lush green pastures sits on bluffs overlooking the ocean. We walk to the edge of the 100-foot cliffs where picture perfect barrels are breaking on the beach below and whales are breaching offshore.
Here, And there is her celebrity status. the frenzied world of public appearances couldn’t seem more distant. But shark attacks get lots of media attention. Bethany has appeared on TV shows including “20/20,” “Good Morning America,” “The Early Show,” “The Today Show,” “Oprah” and “CNN Live.” She’s been featured in Sports Illustrated, People, Life, ESPN, Outside and many other major magazines. She’s been given awards like ESPN’s 2004 Comeback Athlete of the Year. Her autobiography, Soul Surfer, which released last October, made the L.A. Times Bestseller List. A movie deal is in the works.
“One of the things I’ve learned comes from Jeremiah 29:11: ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ ” Bethany says. “It tells me that God has a promise for my life and not to worry about it and try to go with the flow — even though I don’t always.”
If there’s an easy place to go with the flow, Kauai is it. In fact, Cheri says living on the small, rural island helps keeps life sane. Nevertheless, coming so close to death, losing a limb and being barraged with media requests are no small trials, especially for a 15-year-old. The family receives about 20 requests a day for interviews, endorsements or appearances. “We turn down most of it ‘cause Bethany has schoolwork to get done,” Cheri says. “We’d have to shut down our life and travel all over, and she’d never get to surf again.”
Sense of Adventure
The belief that God spared Bethany’s life for a reason keeps her and her family going.
“I’ll never forget this,” says Troy Gall, Bethany’s youth pastor at the North Shore Christian Church. “At the hospital the day after the attack, she said she was glad it happened to her so she could share Jesus with the world.”
“You’ve got to do what God wants you to do,” Cheri says. “That’s where the adventure is, and our heart is to reach out into the secular world. All the interviews we do are so beyond us. We just pray, ‘God, we can’t do this. Please give Bethany something to say.’ It’s been really neat because she says really cool stuff.”
“I try not to make a big soap opera out of the shark attack,” Bethany writes in Soul Surfer. “I would rather focus on what God has allowed me to do in picking up the pieces of my old life and adjusting to parts that are new and different for me. Most of all, I want to use my story as a way to tell people about God’s story. It seems like He has given me the attention of the world for a moment and I had better take advantage of it while I can.”
That doesn’t mean life is always easy.
“My sister’s still the same quiet person,” says 23-year-old brother Noah. “She’s not into the whole celebrity stuff, but God’s given her an opportunity to be a witness for the world. I think at times she’d like to act like Jonah and run from God’s plan.”
Who could blame her? Many people would be crushed or consumed by such a horrific ordeal. Instead, Bethany has taken advantage of her opportunities to reach others. She has called other teens who’ve lost an arm. On a media tour of New York City, she gave her coat to a homeless girl and canceled a shopping spree she’d been given, saying she already had too much. She has visited amputees in military hospitals in Europe. As this article went to print, she was scheduled to visit Asia to do tsunami relief with kids through her partnership with World Vision, an international Christian relief organization.
Home Team
Ohana is Hawaiian for family, and Bethany is surrounded by strong ohana. “She has an amazing, super-solid family who loves the Lord,” Troy says. “The whole family has had a great impact on Bethany.”
Her parents are down-to-earth and gracious. They’re both surfers as well, though they now spend more time supporting and encouraging their kids than being in the water. Bethany says she enjoys hanging out with them. Good thing, as she is home schooled to allow more flexibility for surfing.
“We’re a team,” Cheri says.
Other team members include the few hundred members of the North Shore Christian Church. In their open-air tent sanctuary Bethany is free to be herself. The entire church body of Kauai is part of the team, and the whole 60,000 population of Kauai has played an important role on Bethany’s sideline, rallying to the family’s financial aid after the attack.
Life Goes On
There’s no doubt Bethany has grown and matured through her ordeal. But no matter how much fame or support she has, she still faces normal, everyday challenges.
“I’ve struggled with friends falling away from the Lord and doing dumb stuff that I can’t understand,” she says. “I was reading in the Bible where it says, ‘Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?’ [Luke 6:41] — basically try not to judge your friends and [ignore] your own problems. I was getting all bothered with my friends, but there’s stuff that I need to deal with in myself. I still need to care about them but look inside at myself.”
Noah credits Bethany for her choices. “She’s really wise about what she puts into her life and who she lets influence her. She really tries hard to be a leader,” he says. “It’s like the saying, ‘Garbage in; garbage out.’ She doesn’t put any garbage in. She reads her Bible every day. Last year she read the whole Bible.”
That’s a practice she recommends to Breakaway guys going through tough times. “Read your Bible, and try to focus on the positive,” she says. “And pray a lot. That helps.”
Sick Surfer
I wish I could surf like this girl. Before I leave Kauai, I watch Bethany compete in the Split SurfBout at Pine Trees, a surf break in the middle of Kauai’s Hanalei Bay. The mostly chest-high waves are inconsistent, but she catches enough to finish third in longboard and fifth in shortboard.
It’s not Bethany’s best showing, but I’m impressed — especially with how easy she makes it look to paddle straight with one arm. Try that the next time you’re in the water!
I’ve also seen her carving huge power turns with supersized spray and popping floaters off the lip in her anti-drug TV commercial. Bethany rides goofy-footed (with her left foot in back) and prefers left-breaking waves. With her left arm pointed out to sea, you can’t tell it’s missing. Her riding sure doesn’t betray her.
Bethany was a promising competitive surfer before the attack. She’s had to make a few minor modifications since: adding a hand strap to the top center of her board that allows her to hold on while duck-diving under oncoming waves as she paddles out, and taking off later in bigger waves to compensate for lost paddling power. Her results haven’t suffered.
She was back in competition only 10 weeks after her attack, refusing any special allowances. That day she placed fifth in a National Scholastic Surfing Association (NSSA) meet. Since then, she placed fifth at the 2004 NSSA Nationals, was named to the USA Surf Team and won this season’s first NSSA Hawaiian Conference contest. She also surfed in the first women’s surf contest ever at Oahu’s Banzai Pipeline, one of the most revered breaks in the world.
Bethany’s goal has always been to be a pro surfer. She’s already picked up a Rip Curl sponsorship, and because of the shark attack, Bethany is one of — if not the most — recognized female surfer in the world. Her plan is to hold off on competing in pro contests until she’s 18, but she’d also like to attend Bible college in Australia after high school.
The Swell Rolls On
Bethany’s been through a lot. I never met her before the shark attack, but I’m struck with the sense that she probably wasn’t much different then.
“Obviously she has a better picture of God being her sustainer in every aspect of life and an understanding of His care,” Troy says. “But Bethany has always been like she is now.”
She’s simply a surfer girl whom God has chosen to use, and she’ll keep riding whatever wave He sends.
“I’m not perfect. I fall down and get back up. I just try and follow Jesus ‘cause He’s the ultimate role model,” Bethany says. “Jesus is my every day.” 
