A Soul Surfer Finds Grace

I'm looking forward to seeing the Bethany Hamilton bio-pic "Soul Surfer" now in theaters.  One reason is that I wrote about her in my book How Healed Do You Want to Be?   I quote from the chapter below.  Enjoy! - and, thanks, Bethany for the gift of faith and steadfastness of spirit you share through your life.


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“But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when
you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22: 32).

            Bethany Hamilton was thirteen years old when she lost her left arm during a Tiger Shark attack off of the North Shore of Kaui, Hawaii.  At that time, Bethany was already becoming known in the world of amateur surf competition as a true up-and-comer.  The road (or shall we say wave) ahead looked golden for the young woman whose parents, Tom and Cheri Hamilton, had her on surfboards from the time she could walk.  But on Halloween Day, 2003, the attack Bethany endured from an aggressive fourteen foot shark threatened to crush her dreams forever. 

            After multiple surgeries, the young surfer successfully recovered from the physical damage of the attack.  Next, she would have to face the question of whether she would, or even could, surf again.  Less than a month after her ordeal, Bethany was back in the water.  She was determined to develop a new technique for herself that would allow her to compete in the surfing world again.  It wouldn’t be easy, but Bethany was determined to get back in the game. 

            Throughout her childhood, the young surfer had nurtured a strong personal faith in Jesus Christ.  Her maturing faith inspired Bethany to treat the shark attack as something God allowed her to go through—something that could be turned for His glory.  Of course, news of her attack placed her in the worldwide media spotlight.  But somehow Bethany seemed ready.

As her story became known, her indomitable spirit and positive “can do” attitude began to inspire people everywhere.  "I don't pretend to have all the answers to why bad things happen to good people,” she later wrote.  “But I do know that God knows all those answers, and sometimes He lets you know in this life, and sometimes He asks you to wait so that you can have a face-to-face talk about it”.  Such characteristic honesty endeared Bethany to a host of people around the world who had become aware of her challenges.  Could a young person like her really make a comeback from such devastating circumstances?

            As it turned out, Bethany’s comeback was stunning.  After only a few months, she began to win and place in prestigious surfing competitions in spite of her lack of a left arm.  Over the next several years her amazing accomplishments and personal testimony opened doors for her to communicate her story to millions of people.  Along with newspapers and magazines, Bethany’s story was also being featured on television news segments and talk shows.  “I guess they see me as a symbol of courage and inspiration”, she said.  “One thing hasn’t changed—and that’s how I feel when I ‘m riding a wave.  It’s like, here I am.  I’m still here.  It’s still me and my board in God’s ocean.”

            Ever since the attack first took place, Bethany has continued to turn her tragedy into a triumph.  She was appointed chairwoman of Beating the Odds Foundation and has served as a spokesperson for the international compassion ministry of World Vision.  Her autobiography, Soul Surfer, was published as well as Christian devotional books for teens.  A film version of Bethany’s story is also in the works. Speaking of his daughter’s outstanding example of faith, Tom Hamilton observes: “Somehow God gave Bethany an amazing amount of grace in this.  I am in awe.  She never says, “Why me?”’  For Bethany, the “whys and wherefores” are simple: “This was God’s plan for my life and I’m going to go with it.”

Messes into Messages

            Bethany Hamilton’s story is a great illustration of redemption; the fourth component of our five-dimensional healing model.  What is redemption?  One dictionary defines the word “redeem” as “to buy back, repurchase, to get or win back” (1).  This could mean many things.  For example, while Bethany will never get her arm back, her hopes, dreams and vision for living have returned—and then some!  In the long run, her losses have been mightily redeemed for higher purposes than competitive success.  They have provided Bethany with a way to bear witness to Christ and inspire others, having been “bought back” from disaster to bring blessing instead of despair.  This phenomenon is not new.  God has a long history of turning our messes into messages, our trials into triumphs and our tests into testimonies!  How does He do this?  By the power of something the Bible calls grace.  

Film Review of "Crazy Heart"

"Pick up your crazy heart and give it one more try..."

I'm not sure how I would feel if I were a reporter and I had to watch an attractive and much younger fellow reporter sleep with the somewhat charming but rather burned out older has-been country singer during her second interview with him. Did I mention she has a four-year-old son?

Okay, let me start again. Imagine a film about a burned out older has-been country singer who finds redemption after meeting a much younger woman who is also the mother of a young son. Oh -- and it has Robert Duvall in it, too. But wasn't that the main plot line of Tender Mercies which starred Duvall as the burnout and Tess Harper as the woman who stops his free fall?

Okay, let me start again. Imagine a film about a burned out older has-been country singer who gets involved with a much younger woman with a son named Buddy with a soundtrack by T-Bone Burnett and, yes, Robert Duvall plays a role in this film, too.

It's kind of hard to imagine the attractive Maggie Gyllenhaal falling for a man who smokes like a chimney, drinks like a fish and somewhat resembles the aged love child of Nick Nolte and The Dude (or, maybe, Kris Kristofferson - you decide). But that's what happens and, dang it, he actually is a likeable sort when he's not clutching a bottle of whiskey or emptying the contents of his stomach into a trash can -- but, I digress...

The fact is that Jeff Bridges does give a whale of a performance in this movie. And the music is really good, even if the mythical "hit" songs are ones we've never heard before as performed by mythical pick up bands (including one called "The Bum Steers"!) who sound amazing with next to no rehearsal time with the star of the show. Yes, there's a lot to like and a lot to swallow in Crazy Heart which manages to treat us to some pretty wonderful New Mexico landscapes along the way. The supporting cast, including Maggie G, all turn in nice performances and, hey, wasn't that piano player guy the radio broadcaster in Duvall's "The Apostle"? And, what can I say (speaking of Duvall): he has been my main man ever since I first saw The Great Santini. Once again, he does not disappoint though the director doesn't give us tons of insight into exactly what is going on in his relationship with Bridges' character.

Still, I am bugged by the reporter who makes and re-makes up what is best for her son as she goes. Grab a babysitter at one a.m.? Sure. Turn the little fella over to her charming but alcoholic lover (who has already rolled his Suburban after a short doze on the blacktop) for the afternoon? Why not? After all, he's a lot of fun and he makes good biscuits. Like Renee Zellwiger in Jerry McGuire, we are once again treated to a mommy who makes grand leaps of faith into a relationship that has huge implications for her little boy while we keep our fingers crossed that everyone will come out alright.

But, by the end of the film, there is redemption. We are informed that the turnaround has taken many months but we see only a fraction of the process. Okay, it's just a movie but, somehow, Duvall's redemption in Tender Mercies made more cinematic sense.

If it sounds like I'm sour on the film, I'm not. I actually enjoyed it. I even thought Colin Farrell pulled off the role of "young buck Country Music star" pretty well -- so well that it was a little hard to understand why Bad (that's the first name of the Bridges character - yep) is so mad at his adoring protege'. But all will be well before the end credits role.

There was a crazy side bar in Crazy Heart about another son -- this one belonging to the has-been singer himself, though he hasn't seen him in 24 years. A phone call is placed. A conversation ensues. You'll have to watch the film and decide for yourself what can be gained from exploring this sub plot.

I guess, in the end, I like Bad Blake enough to want to know more about him and, because the film brought me to that point, I wish it would have helped me understand the man better. Nevertheless, Crazy Heart has some five star performances, some good music and some nice scenary as it takes us to bowling alleys, motels and bars we would otherwise zoom right on by.

And when it is all said and done, The Dude most definitely abides.