YOUTH

Bethany Hamilton: More Than a Conqueror

By Andrew Knox
For CWNews

February 20, 2004

CBN.com – Imagine going from 'surfer girl' to celebrity, virtually overnight. That's what happened to 13-year-old Bethany Hamilton when she lost her arm in a vicious shark attack. But Bethany is about more than surfing - or stardom.

Bethany Hamilton is the 'Hawaiian sweetheart' who's been hitting national and international news like wildfire, receiving more public attention than just about any other teenage girl around.

Born and bred on the island of Kauai, Bethany is an aspiring surfing star-and shark attack victim.

In Hawaii one can see an area called "tunnels"-- known by local surfers as a great place to catch waves-up to up 80 feet high. It is also the location where Bethany Hamilton could have lost her life.

It was the morning of October 31, 2003. Bethany and a few of her friends had gone out to surf.

Bethany said, "I was laying on my board parallel to the waves. And this arm was laying inside the water and my other arm was just holding the board. And then, like, the shark just came up and like attacked me. And, like, it kinda pulled me back and forth. It was, only like two or three seconds, so it was real short."

But long enough for a 14-foot tiger shark to do Bethany some serious damage.

Hold Blanchard is a Hamilton family friend. He said, "All of a sudden Bethany just goes, 'I got attacked by a shark', but she wasn't panicking or anything, so I almost thought she was kidding. But, she was paddling in towards me."

I asked Hold, "How far were you from her?"

He replied, "Probably about 20 feet. Then I noticed, I saw a bunch of blood in the water."

Bethany's left arm was gone. Hold had to act fast.

Hold said, "I took my rash-guard off and I tied it around her. I used it as a tourniquet and tied it around what was left, which wasn't much.

He went on, "I knew it was going to be a 20-minute paddle to the beach from out there. And I just didn't see how, I mean, in my mind, I didn't think we'd be able to get her to the beach before she bled to death."

At this point, all Bethany could do was pray. Bethany said, "I don't remember my exact prayers, I just remember praying."

Prayer was nothing new to Bethany. She had put her faith in Jesus Christ when she was just five-and not only began reading the Word of God, the Bible, but memorizing it, and believing it for her life.

Cheri Hamilton is Bethany's mother. She said, "We were going to all these contests and I said, 'Bethany we need to start physically glorifying God somehow.' So, she started writing Scripture verses on her board. And the first one she wrote was 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.'"

And strengthen her God did. With only one arm, Bethany made it back to the beach and to the hospital - where her father Tom Hamilton was awaiting a knee surgery.

Tom Hamilton told us, "Dr. Rovinsky said, 'Tom let me go find out what's going on.'" Then, when Rovinsky came back in, Tom said, "And he was just weeping and crying, with tears. And I just said, 'Oh, my God, it's my daughter.'"

As Tom was rolled out of the operating room, Bethany was brought in. By this time, massive prayer intercession had begun.

Tom said, "I just started praying to God that she'd survive. Cause I didn't know what condition she was in, at all, at the time."

Bethany's condition was bad - she had lost half her blood volume.

Cheri said, "I called our church and had them start the prayer team. Then, I called the 700 Club and asked them to pray. It was like I just knew that I knew that she was 100 percent God's. That's what went through my heart was like, "She belongs to you now, Lord."

Within days, Bethany was out of the hospital. Now, this surfer girl has to face life without her left arm.

I asked her, "Have you ever said, 'God, why did this happen to me?'"

Bethany said, "Uh, yeah, but, you know, I kinda realize that it's like, it's given me an opportunity to like witness for Him and more people will want to talk to me since I'm 'that girl that got attacked by a shark,' so they'll want to hear what I say. And that's pretty good."

Interestingly enough, just before the shark attack, Bethany and her mother had approached God with a special request.

Cheri said, "We were just kind of at a loss for words and [I said], 'Let's just pray for God's will for your life.' So for two solid weeks, we were praying for God's will for her life. So, when this happened, I knew we were in God's hands, you know. And I had a peace about it, amongst the pain. And I felt like the Holy Spirit just fell upon me right after this happened. And I just really felt the grace and mercy and loving kindness that the Lord has for everyone in the world."

While most people would consider the loss of limb a major liability, Bethany sees things a little differently. Her youth pastor, Sara, explained.

Sara said, "There's something different about Bethany, you know, I've seen her turn to God and just choose to trust Him through this. You know, just surrender it to Him and to know that He has a plan and a purpose and that this is part of her life.

In less than a month, Bethany was back on her board. In three months, she was competing. And there's much more Bethany hopes to achieve.

Bethany said, "I hope to, like, do a lot of stuff with like little kids. Cause I, like, enjoy that, and…"

I asked, "What do you want to do for them?"

Bethany said, "Uh, like give them clothes. Tell them about God."

Bethany isn't just coping with her circumstances, she's choosing to overcome - but it's not through her own strength. She says it's through the power of Jesus Christ.

Bethany Hamilton said, "I can say one thing - God definitely got me through this and I have a special verse that is the first verse a friend of mine gave me when I got out of the Operating Room, when I was in the hospital. It's 'For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord. Thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a hope - a future and a hope.' That's Jeremiah 29:11."

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