Miracles from Heaven: a Test of Faith and Healing

Introduction

The film Miracles from Heaven begins by depicting Annabelle's disease, which was an intestinal disorder that does not allow her to digest food properly. She was diagnosed with pseudo-obstruction motility disorder and antral hypomotility disorder which resulted in frequent hospital stays. Some symptoms include nausea, vomiting, constipation, and abdominal distention and pain. There may also be upper abdominal discomfort and bloating, which was evident in the movie. Unfortunately, there is no cure for Annabelle’s condition. The only thing she did to keep her symptoms and pain under control was take an immense amount of medication on a daily basis at specific times, which her mother, Christy, was responsible for. The medication kept her as normal as possible, but it still did not change the fact that Annabelle could possibly die from her condition.

God's Miracles in the Film

The main miracle in the film would be an example of dynamis because it shows that God has an immense amount of power when he healed Annabelle. Even though when Annabelle should have died when she fell down the tree, God healed her of her incurable disease and she left the scene without a scratch. He showed Christy beam that he is truly the most powerful entity there is in existence and instead of allowing Annabelle to die, he cured her instead. The miracle would also be an example of ergon because there was work performed when God ultimately cured Annabelle. When she fell off the tree, God performed work when he prevented Annabelle from getting hurt from the fall, and he also saved her from her condition. Lastly, the miracle would be an example of semeion because Annabelle spoke to God after she fell down the tree. This is a sign from God’s kingdom because after Annabelle fell, she had an out of body experience and she had the opportunity to speak to God, without actually using words. Annabelle wanted to stay in the beautiful paradise, but she said that God insisted that she should come back to her family, and he ensured her that when she returned she would be healed. This shows that Annabelle had direct contact with God and she was ultimately brought back in better condition.

The Purpose of Miracles in Miracles from Heaven

God performed this miracle on Annabelle to show Annabelle’s mother, Christy, that he was always there and he was listening to all of her prayers. Unfortunately, Christy allows her family to let go of their faith after she was approached by two women in church that offered their condolences to her and they suggested that Anna was not healed yet because of her or her family’s sins. This causes Christy to lose interest in returning back to their parish. Christy begins to lose faith in God, and all else in particular. But then she has a visit with Reverend Scott about her issues and he reminds her not to lose her faith. The Beam family eventually returned to Texas, but Anna had a terrible accident. She falls 30 feet down a tree in front of their home and she was only taken out of the tree a couple hours after the incident. After Anna was taken to the hospital, Christy and Kevin spoke to the doctor and he said that despite the minor concussion that Anna may have, she would be okay. When they arrive home, Christy notices that Anna is more energetic and happy compared to how she was before the fall. They get her checked by Dr. Nurko back in Boston, and miraculously Anna’s disorder is gone. Kevin and Christy speak to Anna, and she reveals to her parents that when she fell down the tree, she had an out of body experience. She proceeds to tell them that she spoke to God and although she wanted to stay in that paradise, God insisted that she returned and she would be healed when she came back. This ultimately restrengthened Christy’s faith in God because her daughter was healed of her incurable disorder and her daughter was finally back to normal after a long period of suffering for Anna and her entire family.

Conclusion

Some challenges that people of Faith experience include losing their faith due to unfortunate events that causes a person and/or their loved ones to suffer. For example, Anna’s illness challenged their faith because they did not know why their daughter became sick all of a sudden despite the fact that they were such a religious family and they did not do anything to deserve it. Near the end of the film, Christy reveals to the church that she was extremely angry at God because he allowed her daughter to go through so much pain. But once the miracle happened, this changed her whole perspective on her faith and she now truly believes that God is real. Despite Annabelle and her family’s suffering, Annabelle’s health was eventually restored, and their family was brought back to normal.

References

1. Miracles from Heaven. (2016). Directed by P. Riggen. Columbia Pictures.