Christy (JENNIFER GARNER) assures Anna (KYLIE ROGERS) that everything will be all right in Columbia Pictures' MIRACLES FROM HEAVEN. Image courtesy of Columbia Pictures. Used with permission.

Miracles from Heaven

A miracle is defined as something not explicable by natural or scientific laws. How do you explain it? Maybe a miracle is something that is given in special circumstances to inspire faith. We might get it as a signal that we are on the right path, or we may witness a miracle because our faith is diminished as a tool to spurn us onward. Maybe the miracle propels us to whole new level of evangelization. This happened so often in the days that Jesus and his Apostles walked the earth. Even now miracles abound. Do we get to hear about them? If mainstream media gets ahold of them we might, as in the case of this movie. Or maybe a miracle happens to us personally, or to someone we know. The more we can trust that the miracle is truly from God, the more our faith might be moved. This being said, a miracle is not an essential element of the faith to believe or not believe. The miracle is simply a gift.

Christy Beam starts with having to have faith in her husband Kevin Beam, and his large mixed animal clinic. She isn’t happy about the risk that their family has taken financially. She is anxious about many things, the business, the house, and the kids. She desires to have faith like her husband. “It’s a good life,” he likes to tell her. She is walking reluctantly, and not joyfully in faith in the start of the movie.

Anna, her daughter, gets a disabling digestive motility disorder. In real life Anna got that disease at age 4, and suffered with crippling pain and frequent hospitalizations for 4 years.

As my kids and I watched the movie, we kept waiting for the difficult parts to be over, but the struggles and the pain persist well into the end of the movie. This is real life. Our struggles aren’t short-lived. This is why faith is so crucial for a joyful life, and probably why God allows miracles in our and others lives.

Through the film, you will be walking with a very scared and frustrated mother through the biggest trial of their family. Her perseverance is commendable as she loses her faith. Her daughter becomes sicker and sicker. As moms you will be cringing and crying with Christy. Anna is inspiring in her patience with her disorder. She has questions about why she hasn’t been healed, but she isn’t angry. You can tell she has peace. A little help by kind people along the way make life not only bearable but joyful. Sometimes the charity that others offer is the sweetest balm in tough times. Let’s not forget the naysayers, who try to drag you down with doubts, and lack faith of their own. They too will make their appearance in this film and in your life. FAITH….”we get there when we get there.” The trailer does give you an overview of the movie, which is essentially witnessing the faith, and suffering of this mother and daughter in particular. Extraordinary things to happen and the whole community is affected, including the ripple affect that this movie will impart.

At the end of the day, you don’t really need to explain it. You just need to know that a miracle is a gift from God to remind you that He is with you. It is there to increase your faith, and your sense that you are not alone. So there is an explanation for every miracle, possibly even a scientific one. That doesn’t mean that God isn’t behind every one of them. My point is, don’t be afraid to believe in miracles because somehow you think you might be cheating science. Trust that Gods ways are bigger than our ways. God, who created all, has the answers that science might just be knocking on the door at. Childlike faith is what is required. Miracles are goodness in people, people who are open to the spirit and reaching out. Forgiveness is a miracle as well. Albert Einstein said, there are 2 ways to live your life. As if Nothing is a miracle, or as if Everything is a miracle.

I know my kids were inspired by this movie. I asked them the following day what they thought of the movie. “We LOVED it!” I know it was tough and scary to see another child suffering without explanation. These are real life lessons, which are sometimes more easily translated to children in a movie such as this. There is joy amidst uncertainty, and peace amidst suffering.

Christy (JENNIFER GARNER), Kevin (MARTIN HENDERSON), Abbie (BRIGHTON SHARBINO), Anna (KYLIE ROGERS) and Adelynn (COURTNEY FANSLER) are one big happy family in Columbia Pictures' MIRACLES FROM HEAVEN.

I love that Jennifer Garner plays the lead in this film. She does an excellent job of portraying the desperation we feel when we are powerless to ease the suffering of our children. Many parts were so realistic, that it felt as if you were watching a home movie at times. We know this was based on a true story, and often times these are my favorite sort of movies, because I can trust in them. The acting of the 3 lead roles was excellent. Also the dialogue between the head of pediatrics and the parents was very realistic.

I would recommend this film as a family film for children 7 and older. See an additional write-up of this family story here, and view the movie trailer here.