In Bethany's Words

• My strength came from my relationship with Christ and from the love and encouragement of my family and friends.
• I believe in God. I don't mean that I believe in Him like a person might believe in, say, gravity or the sun coming up in the morning. Those are just facts that don't mean anything. I mean I REALLY believe in God.
• I don't pretend to have all the answers to why bad things happen to good people, but I do know that God knows all those answers, and sometimes He lets you know in this life...
• I don't know what other girls do before they go out in a heat, but for me the routine is pretty simple: I pray. I pray for safety for everyone and I pray for wisdom in my wave selection and ability to be at the right place at the right time.
• The paramedic whispered in my ear "God will never leave you or forsake you."
• God did have something bigger planned for me. What we all needed to do was trust... and believe.
• I have this thought every second of my life—Why me? Not negatively, like Why did this terrible thing happen to me? But more like "Why did God choose me and what does He have in mind for me?"
• When people ask me what my faith in Christ means to me, I usually answer in just one word—everything! This was true before and after the shark attack.
• I see that God is able to use my story to help others. Once a girl came up and told me that she had had cancer. When she learned my story it made her realize that she didn't need to give up.
• It's hard for me to describe the joy I felt after I stood up and rode wave in for the first time after the attack. I was incredibly thankful and happy inside. The tiny bit of doubt that would sometimes tell me you'll never surf again was gone in one wave.
• I think that if I can help other people find hope in God, then that is worth losing my arm for.
• My friend Sarah says that I get to be the voice of God. I usually roll my eyes when she says it, because if I were God, I would never have chosen me of all people to speak for him.

Quotes taken from Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board by Bethany Hamilton
published 2004 by MTV Books and Pocket Books