Second Surfer

My wife and I spent the last two weeks on the island of Kauai.  We don’t get very many vacations but this year we decided to rent a big house and invite several family members to join us. We really enjoy our family and what better place to have fun and bond then a place many people simply call “Paradise”.

Halfway into our vacation we visited one of the most beautiful beaches in Kauai called Secret Beach. The water changes shades of blue all day long and the sand glistens pristine white like a soft summer cloud. The only problem with Secret Beach (besides finding the steep trail to get there) is that the ocean is always really rough with huge waves, so only the top surfers in Kauai attempt to handle those treacherous waves.

We were only there for a few minutes when I spotted a young female surfer girl putting on a tremendous show. She was riding the huge waves like she was born on a board and was obviously a professional. As she started paddling back out I noticed there was a second surfer, also female, also extremely impressive. But there was something different about the second surfer. She too was shredding the gnarly waves but when she finished her ride…she only used one arm to pull herself back onto her board. In fact, she only used one arm to paddle back out as well. That’s when it dawned on me that I was watching Bethany Hamilton, the famous female surfer with only one arm.

I continued watching this amazing surfing exhibition and grabbed my phone to take a few photos. When they finally wore themselves out, Bethany came walking right up to where we were sitting on a beach towel. She was waving and of course I thought she was waving at me (stupid me), but she was actually waving at her husband who was standing behind us with their new little baby. No wonder she was smiling…she’s a professional surfer with a handsome husband and a beautiful baby boy.

But if you google Bethany Hamilton, you’ find out there is a lot more to her than her surfing prowess. She doesn’t like to talk about the shark attack that happened when she was only 13. On her website she says, “It's not because the ordeal was so painful, it’s because it takes the focus away from what really matters - the healing power of faith”. Bethany says that her faith in God played a crucial role in her physical, emotional and spiritual recovery. "I think God has a reason for our pain and He will always carry us through the hard times". Bethany says that her faith gave her the courage to get back on her board just one month after the shark attack, win a national title two years later and eventually become a pro surfer. What's more, she uses her story (including a movie made about her called Soul Surfer) to inspire people all over the world to never give up on their dreams despite their disabilities…and to never give up on God. 

I admit I was really impressed with Bethany’s surfing skills, but after reading about her on line, it’s obvious her faith is the most impressive thing about her. She is active in the “I Am Second” movement and recently made a video on YouTube where she says, “I wake up every day and try to honor God in everything that I do.” Who would have thought that riding a perfect wave in a place called paradise would be just one more way to honor God!

I’ve learned that life is a lot like surfing. 

When you get caught in the impact zone, you need to get right back up 

because you never know what’s over the next wave. 

And if you have faith, anything is possible, anything at all.

~ Bethany Hamilton