Hi lovelies,
I was fortunate enough to attend a private screening at Sony of Jennifer Garner's new film Miracles From Heaven, that was produced by T.D. Jakes, DeVon Franklin, and Joe Roth.
Be sure to head to theater near you on March 16th, 2016, to see the movie.
"Miracles from Heaven is a 2016 upcoming American Christian film directed by Patricia Riggen and written by Randy Brown. It is based on the memoir of the same name by Christy Beam, which recounts the true story of her young daughter who had a near-death experience and was later cured from a digestive disorder. The film stars Jennifer Garner, Kylie Rogers, Martin Henderson, John Carroll Lynch, Eugenio Derbez, and Queen Latifah. Principal photography began in Atlanta, Georgia in July 2015. The film is scheduled for release on March 16, 2016 by Columbia Pictures. " (Source, Wikipedia.)
After the screening there was a powerful and insightful Q&A with producer DeVon Franklin, and I wanted to share with you my experience and key takeaways from the film.
In the spirit of full transparency, I went into the movie thinking, "Oh this will be a nice 'feel good' movie." But I was pleasantly surprised and walked out of the film feeling overwhelmed with the spirit of hope, and more importantly, with the spirit of limitlessness. That if I had the faith as small as a mustard seed, that there is no limit to what I can and cannot do, to what I can and cannot accomplish in my life, (Luke 17:6).
For me, little Annabel, represents the dream and vision that I have for my life. That no matter how hard it got, no matter how dark it may get, where there is life, there is hope, and to never give up.
I ho you enjoy and are inspired by my key insights from the film below:
3 KEY INSIGHTS:
"FAITH AS SMALL AS A MUSTARD SEED"
INSIGHT #1: NEVER GIVE UP.
KEEP GOING UNTIL YOU REACH YOUR DESTINY MOMENT
One of the most powerful statements DeVon made during the Q&A was that Christy Beam had to keep her daughter alive until Annabel's destiny moment of falling down the tree and receiving the miracle of being healed. If she had given up at any point before Annabel's destiny moment, Annabel would have died and never received her miracle healing.
The same goes for whatever dream or vision you have for your life. You have to keep fighting and keep pushing forward until you get to your destiny moment. The film taught us that you must have the tenacity and persistence of Christy Beam. Refuse to let your dream die before you reach your destiny, just like Christy refused to let her daughter die before her reaching her destiny moment of healing. Regardless of any setbacks or hardships, you have to know that your destiny moment is coming and you must keep moving forward.
INSIGHT #2: GOD IS WORKING BEHIND-THE-SCENES ON YOUR BEHALF
BE AWARE OF THE EVERY DAY MIRACLES ALL AROUND YOU
Another powerful insight DeVon shared with us and was also revealed in the film, is that every day miracles are constantly happening to us, around us, and for us. Miracles exist to remind us that God is here, He is with us.
God is always present in our lives and working behind-the-scenes on our behalf. Whether it's the kindness of a stranger, the support of a friend, the love of a spouse, or the loyalty of a sibling, there are miraculous moments that are being performed on our behalf in order to usher us into our destiny moments.
The key to strengthening our faith is to be aware of and grateful for the every day miracles that occur in our lives. This is really being aware of God's presence in our lives and knowing that He is not a passive God, but He's an active God.
God works through us through acts of kindness, love, and compassion to reveal His presence and when we honor and acknowledge Him, we know that anything is possible through Him. No matter what we are going through, we are never alone because He is always with us.
INSIGHT #3: DARKEST BEFORE DAWN
GOD CAN USE YOUR LOWEST MOMENT TO PROPEL YOU TO YOUR HIGHEST POTENTIAL
What I found to be the most inspiring aspects of the film and the Beam's story is that God took them to their lowest point in order to propel them into their greatest moment of favor and healing.
The miracle only came after Annabel fell three stories down into a tree and had a near-death experience. For me, this symbolized that even though you might be going through a deep valley in your life, God is just setting up you for your greatest come back.
When it's dark and when you're at the bottom of your tree, you can't stop there and you can't die there, you have to know and believe that God will use your struggles, heartache, pain, and darkness to prepare to step into a new level of your destiny.
When Annabel fell down the tree, Christy didn't give up but instead she got her passion back and her faith reignited, she knew that Annabel was falling into her destiny moment. We must do like Christy in our own lives and with our own dreams. when we are waiting for our dreams to come to pass, we must keep the faith and keep moving forward.
It is in our darkest moments that we must fight the hardest for our destiny, because it is then that we are closest to our breakthrough.
