Have you ever seen a movie that touched you so deeply that you started questioning your life? The decisions that you have made. Or, perhaps the decisions that you avoided making. The internal struggles. Life’s ups and downs. The big picture, if you will. As you are sitting there watching the story unfold, you can’t help but reflect on your own life and wonder if maybe, just maybe had you made different choices or held different beliefs, would life be different? Would you want it to be?
Let’s take a step back, shall we. Born and raised in Cincinnati, I grew up in a traditional Catholic home with my mom and dad and two sisters. I went to school, went to church, had great friends, was raised to be a good person … the whole enchilada. We didn’t have a lot of money, in fact, there were times when my parents downright struggled to put food on the table but they always did and they raised us to appreciate everything we received and to live in love. Life was good, I dare say great.
Then, one fateful day in March of 1995, everything changed when my father passed away. My world turned upside down, everything that was sunshine turned to rain. To make a long, painful story short … I lost almost everything including my faith.
Fast forward. Past the ugly, the sad, the hurt, the mad. The grueling years, especially for my poor mother, of growing up without dad. Graduating high school and then college. Getting married without him walking me down the aisle. And finally, becoming a mommy.
How things have changed. Suddenly you are responsible for the life, literally the life, of a little person and all you want to do is everything right. Or, at least as right as you can. I don’t know about you but as soon as I became a parent, I started looking at everything different. How I saw things, how I approached things, and what I believed in. Still, my faith … a struggle.
Like every relationship, the one that I share with my husband has been full of beauty and love as well trials and tribulations. There have been times when life is full of sunshine and times, perhaps more often than I would like, when the raincloud seems to be stationed over our head. There have been times when I’ve questioned our faith, or lack thereof, and wondered if maybe things would be different if we invited God into our lives. If we went to church, prayed together, and handled our struggles over to him.
The new “trendy” statement is … the struggle is real … and truthfully, it is.
Last week, literally out of the blue, I was granted the opportunity to sit in a theater with a small group of people (including my amazing mom) and experience a film that made me question every decision I have made, at least when it comes to my faith, since my father passed away 21 years ago. I wept tears of joy and pain as I watched a little girl experience a situation so adult that even I didn’t feel qualified to see it.
Last week, I watched a film that made me realize it is time to open the lines of communication with my husband that I generally avoid and maybe, just maybe open a door that I closed long ago.
Last week, I watched a film that has me crying as I type this because even today, almost a week later, it has touched my heart so deeply.
Last week, I watched a film that may be the stepping stone to a new understanding of and experience with faith.
I am excited and admittedly a bit terrified to take my husband to see MIRACLES FROM HEAVEN and then to take the next steps in reevaluating our faith together.
I invite you to take your significant other, your parents, your siblings, and/or a friend to experience MIRACLES FROM HEAVEN.
Don’t forget the tissues.
MIRACLES FROM HEAVEN
NOW PLAYING IN THEATERS EVERYWHERE!
MIRACLES FROM HEAVEN is based on the incredible true story of the Beam family. When Christy (Jennifer Garner) discovers her 10-year-old daughter Anna (Kylie Rogers) has a rare, incurable disease, she becomes a ferocious advocate for her daughter’s healing as she searches for a solution.
After Anna has a freak accident, an extraordinary miracle unfolds in the wake of her dramatic rescue that leaves medical specialists mystified, her family restored and their community inspired.
Directed by Patricia Riggen
Screenplay by Randy Brown
Based on the book by Christy Beam
Produced by Joe Roth, T.D. Jakes, and DeVon Franklin
Executive Producers Matthew Hirsch, Derrick Williams, and Zack Roth
Cast Jennifer Garner, Martin Henderson, John Carroll Lynch, Kylie Rogers, with Eugenio Derbez, and Queen Latifah
This film is rated PG by the MPAA for the following reasons: thematic material, including accident and medical images.
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Disclaimer: I received complimentary entry to a pre-screening of MIRACLES FROM HEAVEN courtesy of Sony Pictures to facilitate this review. Regardless, all opinions expressed are still my own. Photos and video courtesy of Sony Pictures.
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