Pro surfer, author, and motivational speaker Bethany Hamilton sits down with Pureflix to talk about her new documentary film “Unstoppable” and to share how God helped her rediscover her passions and move on with life following a tragedy.
In 2003 Hamilton was surfing when a shark attacked her and bit her arm off. She lived in fear of the ocean after that traumatic experience and struggled to adjust to a new life of having just one arm. She had to make a “new normal” but this did not stop her from her love of surfing.
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Eventually, she got back in the water and has not let her physical condition stopped her since. She has become a motivational speaker, author of several inspirational and fitness books including “Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board” and “Body and Soul: A Girl’s Guide to a Fit, Fun and Fabulous Life.”
Looking back at that poignant moment in her life, Hamilton said it was her faith in God that helped her through her struggles and paved way for her to move forward and see a light in her darkness. Growing up in a Christian home, Hamilton said that she had always wanted God to be a part of her life.
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“I didn’t want surfing to be the forefront even though I was very passionate about it. But I was like ‘God I want you to use me more than just surfing.’…I trusted that God had a plan for my life and that he was watching over me,” Hamilton told Pureflix.
She added that when she lost her arm she “truly had the peace of God which surpasses all understanding that guarded my heart and my mind.” Hamilton said that she never went through a phase of doubt, denial, and expressed her anger at God after the tragedy. She said that she “believed God has his hand upon me and my family during that time and still does today.”