Soul Surfer

When I first saw the trailer for Soul Surfer, the movie, I was a bit skeptical of the wholesomeness of it. The film is the story of Bethany Hamilton who, in 2003, lost her left arm when a shark attacked her while she was surfing. I remember the news reports about Bethany's courage, the line of jewelry that was released which bore her name, and I remember hearing passing comments about Bethany's faith. Eight years after the tragic accident, the story of Bethany Hamilton lives again in Soul Surfer.

It's true that Bethany is a surfer and surfers do wear bikinis but don't let that ruin the movie for you. I don't condone all of her clothing choices but Bethany does love the Lord and she has used her loss to show his love. In an interview she stated "I gave my life to Jesus when I was five" and she said that he "Is the one who gives me courage." While the producers of Soul Surfer may not be Christians they did show the faith and practices of Bethany and her family. In several instances people pray to the Lord. Bethany's parents cry out to God for help when she is near death. As she lies in the hospital room Bethany sees her dad reading the Holy Bible (producers wanted to cover up these words but the Hamilton family requested that they wouldn't). A youth leader in Bethany's church quotes Jeremiah 29:11 when Bethany questions the sovereignty of God in allowing her to lose her arm. The list of faith-based content could continue on but I hope that you'll watch the movie and discover it.

As I sat in the the movie theater munching on popcorn and enjoying the film I knew I would definitely recommend it to the female audiences out there. Apart from the swimsuit styles shown, Soul Surfer is a higly family-friendly film that inspiring and touching. Honestly, I never cry in movies but I nearly did in this one, ;) It's almost the weekend so why don't you go to see the story of Bethany Hamilton? Tomorrow my friends and I are planning to go see it together and I think they're going to love it too. Click on the following link to read the Plugged in Online (Focus on the Family) review of Soul Surfer. Plugged in Online gave the movie 4 1/2 stars out of 5 for family-friendliness! http://www.pluggedin.com/movies/intheaters/soulsurfer.aspx