{"id":128,"date":"2011-04-22T05:41:19","date_gmt":"2011-04-22T09:41:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=128"},"modified":"2011-04-20T10:08:02","modified_gmt":"2011-04-20T14:08:02","slug":"soul-surfer-and-the-cross","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/04\/soul-surfer-and-the-cross.html","title":{"rendered":"Soul Surfer and the Cross"},"content":{"rendered":"

My son lives on the North Shore of Hawaii.\u00a0 He is a champion surfer.\u00a0 The North Shore is where many of\u00a0the massive waves originate that we see in the movies and on posters.\u00a0 He calls his father and me\u00a0several times a week to give wave updates, chat and exchange notes on friends and family.<\/p>\n

“Mom,\u00a0 you must see Soul Surfer,” <\/em>he told me the other evening.\u00a0 I didn’t comment.\u00a0 I sat a bit\u00a0shocked.\u00a0 He is not into<\/em> syrupy and my impression of the movie was that this Disney film fit into the to the Disney stereo-type frame.\u00a0 “I cried all the way through it.”\u00a0 This time I was speechless.\u00a0 My son doesn’t cry at movies.<\/p>\n

Then he explained.\u00a0 “The filming is magnificent.\u00a0 Only a surfer could really understand how good the wave scenes are.\u00a0 But it’s the story.\u00a0 Mom, it’s the story. \u00a0Bethany’s story.”<\/p>\n

He continued, “On the North Shore, none of the surfers say, ‘I can’t.’\u00a0 If the waves are massive and\u00a0‘I can’t’ is used, everyone will chime in together, ‘Bethany Hamilton surfs these waves with one arm.\u00a0 Don’t you dare say, I can’t.’<\/p>\n

“And,” he said knowing\u00a0his next words\u00a0would peak my interest, “Disney didn’t play down her relationship with the Lord.\u00a0 The movie told it like it is.”<\/p>\n

In case you’ve been a bubble for the past years, Miss Hamilton is a young woman who lost her arm to a shark while surfing as a teenager.\u00a0 A surfing prodigy, she believed that her life-long dream of becoming a professional surfer was gone.\u00a0 But her faith kept her going in that direction.\u00a0 She now holds national titles in surfing.<\/p>\n

As a child, in our\u00a0church in Charleston,\u00a0it was\u00a0engraved on my mind, emotions and spirit, standing to sing, There’s room at the cross for you…Though millions have come, there is still room for one.\u00a0 There is room at the cross for you. <\/em><\/p>\n

Now, I live in the world of disabilities.\u00a0 Perhaps, I understand more than most the vast difference the crucifixion of Christ can make in a life.\u00a0 \u00a0As area director for Special Gathering, a ministry within the mentally challenged community, I’ve seen the powerful effects of the cross in people’s lives.<\/p>\n

Surrendering my life to the God “who would rather die that live without me” is a life-changing event.\u00a0 It doesn’t mean that a surfing prodigy won’t ever be faced with the dangers of the ocean.\u00a0 It doesn’t always mean that arms will grow back that have been knawled\u00a0by a shark. \u00a0Within the mentally challenged community, it doesn’t mean that Julie will ever learn to read.\u00a0 It doesn’t mean that\u00a0MaryAnn will ever be able to say, “Mama.”<\/p>\n

It does mean that God will use the sacrifice of Christ to forgive our selfishness and transform\u00a0our lives.\u00a0 Additionally, because of the resurrection, we can become a champion surfer\u00a0who has\u00a0one arm and\u00a0who inspires people across the globe to never say, “I can’t.”\u00a0 We can become new in him, loving the unlovely.\u00a0 We will be given the strength to walk one more step when we are\u00a0aching tired from caring for a child with a disability.\u00a0 Because of Jesus’ great sacrificial giving, we can become new creations, children of God.<\/p>\n

What mounting challenge are you facing today?\u00a0 How has the sacrifice of Christ made a difference in your life?\u00a0 What motivates you when everything in you screams, “I can’t”?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My son lives on the North Shore of Hawaii.\u00a0 He is a champion surfer.\u00a0 The North Shore is where many of\u00a0the massive waves originate that we see in the movies and on posters.\u00a0 He calls his father and me\u00a0several times a week to give wave updates, chat and exchange notes on friends and family. “Mom,\u00a0…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,5,20,3,40,10,16,11,28,38,12,4,41],"tags":[690,46,21,688,696,7,18,699,45,44,691,13,694,19,689,698,31,47],"class_list":["post-128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-autism-spectrum","category-christianity","category-church","category-developmental-disabilities","category-faith","category-inspirational","category-intellectual-disability","category-intellectually-disabled","category-mentally-challenged","category-passion-week","category-religion","category-simple-truths","category-spirituality","tag-autism-spectrum","tag-bethany-hamilton","tag-christian","tag-christianity","tag-church","tag-developmental-disabilities-2","tag-discipleship","tag-faith","tag-good-friday","tag-holy-week","tag-inspirational","tag-intellectual-disabilities","tag-intellectual-disability","tag-mental-retardation","tag-mentally-challenged-community","tag-passion-week","tag-resurrection-celebration","tag-soul-surfer"],"yoast_head":"\nSoul Surfer and the Cross - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Soul Surfer and the Cross - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"My son lives on the North Shore of Hawaii.\u00a0 He is a champion surfer.\u00a0 The North Shore is where many of\u00a0the massive waves originate that we see in the movies and on posters.\u00a0 He calls his father and me\u00a0several times a week to give wave updates, chat and exchange notes on friends and family. “Mom,\u00a0…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/04\/soul-surfer-and-the-cross.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-04-22T09:41:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-04-20T14:08:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda G. Howard\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Soul Surfer and the Cross - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"nofollow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Soul Surfer and the Cross - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","og_description":"My son lives on the North Shore of Hawaii.\u00a0 He is a champion surfer.\u00a0 The North Shore is where many of\u00a0the massive waves originate that we see in the movies and on posters.\u00a0 He calls his father and me\u00a0several times a week to give wave updates, chat and exchange notes on friends and family. “Mom,\u00a0…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/04\/soul-surfer-and-the-cross.html","og_site_name":"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","article_published_time":"2011-04-22T09:41:19+00:00","article_modified_time":"2011-04-20T14:08:02+00:00","author":"Linda G. 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