Miracles from Heaven encourages Christians not to lose their faith

Movie Title:     Miracles From Heaven

Grade:   B

Rating:   PG, 1 hour 49 minutes

In a Nutshell:    Based on true events, this inspiring story is geared towards Christians who sometimes struggle with their faith when when hard times come. 

Jennifer Garner plays Christy Beam, who explains, “A miracle is defined as something not explicable by natural or scientific laws.  But then, how do you explain it?  How does it happen?  Who or what is behind it?”  

Uplifting theme: 

• “It’s alright, Mom.  Not everyone is going to believe.  They’ll get there when they get there.” – Anna Beam
• Albert Einstein said there are only two ways of looking at life: one is as though nothing is a miracle and the other is though everything is a miracle.
• “Miracles are goodness. Miracles are God.  Miracles are God’s way of letting us know He is here.” – Christy
• Faith is peace.

Things I liked:

• Jennifer Garner does a wonderful job as a faithful mother.  I felt her pain.  She made me weep. Since filming this faith-based movie, she has become more vocal about her own Christian beliefs.
• It's interesting how a tree provides healing, like the symbolism of the biblical tree of life.
• It’s always a pleasure to see Queen Latifah. 
• The mom has a sweet tradition of going into each of her daughter’s bedrooms at night to ask them if they want to share any of their prayers with her.  They chat about what’s on their hearts and what they talked to God about.
• I can relate to a mother who fiercely fights for her children.  Doctors don’t know everything.  I loved it when the mom refused to accept the various doctors’ diagnoses, because she knew that something was wrong.  Mothers know their children better than anyone.  Thank God...literally...for mothers.
• You get to see parts of beautiful Boston.  I love that city!
• I was touched by the many good people that came into the Beam family’s life just when they needed supportive friends the most.  We can be there for each other.  We need to be there for each other.
• At the end of the movie, you get to see video clips of the real Beam family who experienced this story.
• How wonderful to have such a loving, kind caregiver as Dr. Nurko, played by Eugenio Derbez.  He reminded me of the lovable Patch Adams played by Robin Williams.
• The lovely Kylie Rogers plays Anna Beam.  I’m sure we’ll be seeing her in many more movies.  She did a great job.

Things I didn’t like:

• The film is a bit slow moving.
• I'm simply dumbfounded that there are still Christians in the world today who think that if God doesn’t heal a person that it means someone has sinned.  
• It would be nice if we just had to have enough faith and then everything would be OK.  Sometimes things don’t work out. it's not as picture perfect and our challenges aren't always wrapped up neatly in a pretty bow. Here’s the deal though…we still need to have faith.
• I wish we could have seen more about Anna's experience in heaven.  I have always been fascinated with “Near Death Experiences.”  This story reminded me a lot of the movie Heaven is for Real , which was produced by the same peeps.  You can read my movie review for that film here.
• The movie preaches a little bit to the choir, but that’s OK.
• A lot movie critics hate this movie.  Sure, it's not a big blockbuster with mind-blowing action and CGI.  Yes, it's cheesy and preachy.  So.  It's nice to have a simple faith-building option in the theater.

Interesting lines:

•  “Why do you think God hasn’t healed me?” – Anna

“There are so many things I don’t know.  But I do know that God loves you.” – Christy

• “We need a solution and we need it now.” – Christy

“We’ll get it.” –  Kevin Beam

“Oh, yeah?  How?” – Christy

“By not losing our faith.” – Kevin Beam (Martin Henderson)

Inspiring lines:

• “There’s a common phrase: No pain, no gain.  And it is, of course, attributed to the sculpting of our bodies, but the same principle can be applied to the sculpting of our character and the deepening of our spiritual life.” – Pastor Scott
• Faith is really the only true shelter.” – Pastor Scott
• Just because things aren’t ok, doesn’t mean there isn’t a loving God.” – Pastor Scott
• Christy and Kevin Beam always tell each other “It’s a good life.”   Studies show that if we’re grateful and positive, we will see the good in our lives and actually feel happier.
• “You either roll with it, or you get rolled on.” – Angela (Queen Latifa)

Funny lines:

• “You know you could go to hell for swearing.” – Abby Beam“I’m not going to hell!  Hell is in California.” -  Adelyn Beam

Tips for parents:   

• There’s a scene where a bunch of people are outside at a BBQ.  It shows everyone having a great time socializing, and then it scans past a table of teenage girls who are all on their cell phones, ignoring one another as they text other friends.    Ask your kids if they noticed it and use that opportunity to talk about cell phone etiquette. 
• No profanity.
• This is definitely a family-friendly film.
• Death, pain, and suffering are big topics.

If you'd like to learn more about the Beam family's experience, you can read it in: