>> BETHANY HAMILTON: Aloha. It's a pleasure to be here. Thank you for having me. I wanted to get a show of hands of, has anyone
here surfed? Raise your hand. OK. Doesn't feel like a lot of hands went up,
but if you have, I know you know the joys of surfing and how amazing it is and I've
had the pleasure of surfing since I was basically a toddler. And so I just want to share a little bit about
my life with you and I also just want to point out how important it is for us to know that
we can overcome any obstacles with Christ as our Savior and that relationship that we
can have with Him. And how knowing God and living our life for
Him can give us new reason and new life in Him and just direction in the different times
of our life that we go through. And I know a lot of you know a bit about my
story and all that I've been through and the obstacles that I've faced. But you've only seen a small picture of my
life and it's been just an incredible journey, adventuring it with Christ. Before I gave my life to God, I started surfing
when I was — basically like on a board about — around 2, 3 years old. And this was one of the greatest passions
of my life, surfing. Getting to go in the ocean and just enjoy
God's creation. And the feeling of riding waves, there's nothing
like it. You, you paddle in and catch this wave and
stand up and the feeling of just the ocean pulling you toward shore is just incredible. And I fell in love with that and just thankfully
I got to go out just about every day. Both my parents surfed. And my dad's from Ocean City, New Jersey and
— ooh, nice. Some New Jersey fans. And he, he started surfing when he was a teenager
and I know a lot of you are familiar with cold winters, I'm not. I love warm water and warmth. But my dad, he really loved surfing and he
was — he’d surf all year long in New Jersey. And he'd go surf and there'd be snow on the
beach and he'd go and put warm water down his wetsuit and paddle out and just surf until
he was frozen. And eventually, he made his way out to Hawaii
for surfing. And that's where he met my mom. My mom is from San Diego, California. And she, she was a surf addict as well. She learned to surf when she was about 13
years old and her and her sister would lug this huge wooden surfboard, they both had
to carry it together because it's so huge. Nowadays, my board's like six pounds, really
light and small. But she was just into it and she was one of
the few girls surfing and her and her sister would go and take turns with their boards
and they just loved it as well. And eventually, my mom made her way out to
Hawaii and my parents were kinda like hippies so they kinda roughed it and eventually met
each other and basically just lived to surf. And they got married and fell in love, or
fell in love and got married, and then had my two older brothers and myself. And shared their passion of surfing with us. But they also shared their passion for God
with us which when I was about 5 years old, I made the best decision of my life to give
my heart to God. And it's pretty awesome combination to surf
and surf for God. As I grew up surfing and, and just giving
my life to God, just — it was amazing. And I, I was really — I loved as I grew
up and started getting into competition and I realized that I was gonna become a professional
surfer, it was just what I was gonna do, nothing was gonna stop me. And thankfully I had my parents' support. And they would get me in the water every day
and you know, some mornings my dad and I would wake up at four a.m. to go and surf on the
other side of the island. Two hour drive and I would sleep most of the
way and wake up and we'd go and surf one of our favorite surf spots. And it was just cool like spending time with
my dad and going surfing and just living my dream. And so — as I got older, I started getting
into competition. And I was really well — doing well with
it, I was kinda gifted and just naturally like every heat I got in I would end up making
it or winning it. And I did my first competition out at island
Oahu. When won every division and these were kinda
like just steps into like OK, I'm gonna be a pro. I'm gonna — I want to be the best girl in
the world. And, and then as I got around 12 years old,
I started doing National Scholastic Surfing Association which is the biggest competition
for amateur surfers under 18. And that summer, I think I was 13, I went
and competed against 18 and unders and finished second in — over, in — with the whole
country. So it was a big result and I was really just
stoked. But I came home and with all the stoke I had
for surfing, I knew that I still wanted God to be my number one. And I knew that surfing wasn't gonna fulfill
that, that need for — really that need just for God. And so my mom and I started praying and just
asking God to use me and make me more than just a surfer. Maybe take my surfing and use that. And it was just, it was just an incredible
combination of surfing and surfing for God and wanting to know Him and live for Him and
take these steps to just choose to live my life whole-heartedly for him and even with
my passions. Another passion of mine besides God and surfing
is my husband. He's over there, hanging out. He's so cute! Yeah, he's pretty handsome. But my husband, he's awesome. So supportive, he was helping me prepare for
this and he's just awesome but my husband loves to go on adventures. One of my favorite stories he's shared with
me, him and his best friend, they were — well he's born and raised in Kansas, and one summer,
one summer him and his best friend, they got in the car and drove 24 hours to the Rocky
Mountains in Idaho. Just to go on an adventure. Packed pretty light, like can of beans, sleeping
bag, shotgun, some kind of ax thing. And they decided to go climb the steep mountain
that they could find. Really just to be outside and go on an adventure. And you know, they hiked the mountain and
they got about halfway up and then they — it was getting darker and late and they got ready
to camp out and just slept under the stars and enjoyed the outdoors. And you know, and then the next day they got
up and climbed the rest of the mountain. I just see that all of us have different passions
and not necessarily the same. I doubt there's too many people extremely
passionate for surfing in this room. Maybe you love basketball or soccer or maybe
you love art or film making. But no matter what your passion is, you're
going to face an obstacle in your life. The fact is, we just — you know, life's
not perfect and there's times where we face different things. And things that we need to overcome and, and
that kinda bring us down. You know, when I was 13 I was kinda on top
of the world. And I was doing all that I wanted to do with
surfing and I loved God passionately and I wanted Him to use me. And in one second my arm's gone and I felt
as though surfing was gone and it was just crazy that this happened to me. That a shark attacked me and took my arm. It's one thing that surfers think about but
you don't actually think it's gonna happen to you. And you know, I didn't know what God had in
store for me. One day I'm doing everything I hoped, the
next day life's kinda come to a halt. And almost lost my life, but thankfully God
had an incredible plan and, and journey for me. And I'm just really stoked that I chose to
trust in Him through this time of loss. And kinda just not fully comprehending what
He had, this plan for surfing maybe not, not surfing. And just what am I gonna do? My arm's gone and you know, people in my family
kinda doubted and my mom's like "oh, we can move to the mountains and you can snowboard
or be a photographer" and — but at the same time, I had a peace that God was in control
and I had that peace because I had that relationship and that intimacy with Him and you know, I
would invest time in just praying and asking Him to guide me in my life and I just loved
Him and that gave me the peace that even in this craziness and almost losing my life and
losing surfing and losing my arm, I knew that He was in control and He had a plan for me. And, and it's just crazy how God can take
crazy things and turn them into something really beautiful. Whereas my husband, when he went through his
college, he went to college and he kinda went through a phase of just — kinda just poor
decisions and he came to a point where ... Yeah, he made some really bad decisions but, don't
we all? He came to a point where, you know, he was
a really successful athlete. He played football and he's a pretty strong,
buff guy, and I don't mind that. And he also, he was in track and he's just
one — like if you get to spend with him, he's very just lovable and everyone who meets
him, like my whole family approves and all my friends. Like you meet him and you just instantly love
him. But yeah, he was a very successful athlete
and — but at the same time, he — throughout college — he, he abused alcohol and other
substances and, and in that, he — you know, that kinda tore him away from his loved ones
and his family who was there for him and loved him and just wanted to see him success — have
success and live his life out for God. And — but through these substances and these
bad choices, it kinda pulled him away from the people who loved him most and people who
he loved but he felt kind of ashamed and he felt ashamed of what he — his choices were. And you know, we all have different obstacles
and what I love about Adam's story is he came to a point where all of these choices that
he was making were taking him nowhere. And he felt empty inside and he came to a
point where he had to face the reality of his decisions and these decisions that were
just bringing him down. And he decided to just give his life back
to God and, and trust in God and he came to his family and just told them that he's over
these decisions he was making and that he wanted to live his life out for God. And I'm so thankful for, for that. And you know, all that he has been through,
now he has this incredible ministry. And he's just so naturally gifted at speaking
into young kids' lives. And that's actually what brought him in — to
Hawaii and how we met and how we fell in love. He, he came out to Hawaii to be a missionary
and — well a missionary but really to start Young Life which is a — he started Young
Life in Kauai with a friend and they're reaching out to some of the — just the roughest side
of the island, you could say. I mean, every area has struggles but he went
to the west side, it's as far away as you could possibly be from me. But it was awesome. I got to experience going out there and seeing
how God took these hard times in his life and eventually used them because he could
relate to a lot of these kids who were making poor decisions and he could speak into their
lives the hope that God has for them and the power that they can have in God to overcome
the obstacles in their life. And yeah, it's just pretty unreal to have
been able to see what he is doing and have a little part in it. But also that we got to meet. We kinda got set up on a blind date and yeah. We fell in love. Not quite hippies, but it's been an incredible
journey just knowing that God had a plan for me and in, in my obstacles. Beyond just losing my arm, after that I had
to face so much of, of just looking at myself in the mirror and I only have one arm. And that's how I am and it's not gonna change. But you know what, God loves me just as I
am. And eventually He had someone special like
Adam for me, that would love me just as I am. And you know, He — you know, that's an example
of like God provided for this struggle that you know, I did kinda go through a phase where
I was like "is anyone ever gonna love me? And I'm not normal like everyone else." And you know, different struggles that I went
through. Kind of becoming famous. I never would have expected to be able to
share my life through a movie and through a book, Soul Surfer. You know, I kinda always liked to hide in
the background and not be the center of attention but I guess God had a different plan for me
and it's been pretty exciting to be able to just go out and share my story and share this
obstacle that I had to face. And how I overcame it and, and the unique
times that I've gone to places that I never would have experience — known before. Like I got to go to Thailand and share my
story of hope with people who had a lot of obstacles after the tsunami hit and I got
to go to this village in Thailand. It's called a sea gypsy village. And the sea gypsies, their life is all about
the ocean. And they fish for their living and I got there
and I think, it was about a year after the tsunami and a lot of the people hadn't even
stepped foot in the ocean. They're fearful and they were having a hard
time overcoming. So it's really just awesome to be able to
share the hope in God and how He can help them overcome their fear. Got to take 'em surfing and you know, took
these group of like 30 kids. Took them out of their little village, which
most of 'em had never left, drove over to the main city of Phuket and took 'em surfing
and gave 'em all soccer balls and just shared my story and it was really awesome to see
kinda the light that was brought to them and just remind them that God loves them. And He wants them to overcome. So I think —
I love that God can take the passions that He gives us. He took my surfing even after losing my arm
and was able to share a story of hope with so many people. And I think that if you choose to live your,
your life for God, He'll take your passions and turn them into even more incredible passions
and adventures and adventures in Him. And when obstacles come your way, or maybe
you're facing something right now, maybe your family life is rough and your parents aren't
doing so good or you are just struggling with issues. Like we all have issues of like self-doubt
or like we can't accomplish something or we feel just not confident in ourselves in the
way we look. Which a lot of us invest way too much into
that. And I encourage, especially you girls, to
invest in, in what you have in God rather than what you look like each day and. I love how as I grew up with one arm and relearned
how to surf, God just taught me a lot how He can just take the hard times that I went
through and really turn 'em into something beautiful. And I think that He can do that for each and
every one of you. He can take what you've been through and take
your story and if you're just willing to share it and share what He's done for you. If you just make an impact in one person's
life, that is totally worth everything. And I look back on losing my arm and it's
actually been 10 years now since I lost my arm. And I would never take back anything that
I've been through. And I wouldn't choose to keep my arm because
I know that God allowed me to go through something like this to be able to come and share with
you the message of hope. Hope in Him. And how you can overcome obstacles with Christ. And, and I think the — that by giving your
life to Christ, this relationship — this one on one relationship that He wants to have
with you and just fill your life with love and hope in Him and it's really amazing when,
when we choose to live for God and love Him, loving others is so much easy — easier. And we can just conquer anything that really
comes our way. And, and we can ask God for help when we are
facing these struggles or these obstacles and, and that sometimes when we don't understand,
like I'm sure when Adam got to a point of like facing the reality of his choices, and
couldn't really understand why he went through that and, and why he pulled away from his
family but like looking at the bigger picture now, he's had this incredible ministry and
God's taken his passion for youth and taken him to a pretty cool place and an awesome
adventure and you know, we get to spend a lot of time outdoors adventuring and you know,
we can't always understand in the moment. And like Carrie Underwood who played one of
my best friends Sarah Hill in “Soul Surfer.” I love the scene where she's talking about
a walnut and you zoom in and it looks like a brain and you don't really know what it
is and then you zoom out and you're like "oh it's a walnut." And I think sometimes when our obstacles are
straight up in our face, and sometimes we just can't see past them. They're just here blocking our vision and
— but if we just step back and ask God for help, He'll just open our vision and, and
show us the bigger picture. And I look back now and I'm just in awe of
how God could take a little young girl like me from a tiny little island in Hawaii and
share my story all over the world and, and just be able to reach so many people. And I think, even if we can all just reach
one person through our obstacles and through our trials and the different things that we
go through, it's just as beautiful if we reach one versus a million. And, and I think God just really wants you
to dive into your relationship with Him. And allow Him to drive you. And drive you in your passion so that you
can work at your passions with all your heart as doing it for the Lord. And doing it for the Lord — it just, again
brings us to this reason. The reason to live and reason to, to go out
and do things that we may never have done before. And reason to live beyond just ourselves. And, and the greatest commandment is to love
God, love others, and love yourself. And I think starting off by just diving into
your relationship with God and then in that, He'll give you this love for other people
that is — can’t come on your own. And then from there He'll just take your life
on an amazing adventure and no matter what comes your way, you're gonna, you're gonna
rock it. But I just want to thank you so much and I
hope that you can take the obstacles in your life and give them to God and trust in Him
and allow Him to carry you through that and take you on an incredible adventure and yeah. Overcome anything. Thank you.
