Olympic gold medalist and figure skating commentator Scott Hamilton will be the featured speaker at Deaconness Pregnancy and Adoption’s (DPA) event titled Angels of Destiny.
On Aug. 29 at 7 p.m. at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Angels of Destiny will promote the services DPA provides to expectant parents, adoptive families and children.
Scott Hamilton
Hamilton was adopted at six weeks old, and he currently has two adopted children and is an advocate for adoption.
“Life is what we make it, but it’s also the life that we’ve been given that comes with incredible responsibility to make the next generations’ choice and opportunities better than the ones that we were given,” Hamilton said.
A member of the United States Olympic Hall of Fame, Hamilton won the gold medal in 1984, ending a 24-year gold medal drought for U.S. men in Olympic figure skating. He also won four consecutive U.S. championships (1981–84) and four consecutive World Championships (1981–84).
Hamilton’s faith in Christ was made known in an “I Am Second” video, where he recounts a tough journey that began when he was young.
“I was in and out of the hospital for years, and I was never really home,” Hamilton said in the video. He eventually got involved with a skating club, which he said skating “took on a life of its own.”
Hamilton discussed other tragedies in his life, including the death of his mother who battled cancer. This happened during the prime of his skating career. He went on to claim many of his figure skating achievements, but then in 1997, he was forced to leave the ice with his own encounter with cancer.
“I survived something that took the most important person in my life off the planet,” Hamilton said in the video. “What’s my purpose now? What do I need to do?”
He shared that his wife Tracie brought him to church. “She took me to a minister, a man named Ken Durham,” Hamilton said. “And the first thing he said to me, which was extraordinary, was, ‘You have to understand that Christianity is a faith of history. These things actually happened.’ And I go, “OK, that’s a good starting-off point.’”
Hamilton also told how he recovered from a brain tumor, which hindered his growth as a child. “That was the mysterious illness I had that they never diagnosed. That got me into skating. I’m 5-4; if I were 5-8, where would I be? I choose to look at that brain tumor as the greatest gift I could’ve gotten because it made everything else possible.”
Looking back, Hamilton said he knows God worked throughout all the experiences of his life.
“I understand that through a strong relationship with Jesus you can endure anything,” he said. “God is there to guide you through the tough spots. God was there every single time, every single time.”
For those interested in attending Angels of Destiny, ticket information is available at deaconessadoption.org or by calling 405/949-4200.
