Now I KNOW God is Real!



Recently (Ok - it was last month, but for me that's recent.), I went and saw Miracles From Heaven with my mother-in-law.  It was a wonderful movie.  No one told me I should have brought an entire box of Kleenex, so I recommend one for anyone who hasn't seen the movie yet.  At this point, you'll have to wait until it comes out on DVD/Blu-Ray.

As I was driving to worship band practice with my daughter, she asked what the movie was about.  She really wanted to know, so I told her.

It was a story about a family who had moved to the country - they bought a farm in Texas so the father could start a veterinarian practice.  There were three girls - I think they were about 13, 11, and 6 years old.  The middle child developed a serious digestive disorder that required a ton of medical treatment, and the mother did everything she could to make her little girl better.  Her little belly was so bloated that she couldn't wear normal clothes.  She had to be tube fed and took many medications.  They flew to Chicago multiple times for treatment with a specialist. They spent all their money trying to make her better, but still she wasn't healed.

After many months of intense treatment, the family flew home to Texas to enjoy life at home for a while.  After some coaxing, the teenage sister asked the 11-year-old, who was used to laying in a hospital bed and was in constant pain, to play soccer with her in the yard.  Reluctantly, she agreed to play. 

While they were playing soccer, a large tree caught her eye.  The teenage sister, trying to help her sick sister enjoy some things she used to do, offered to help her climb the tree.  When they made it close to the top, they sat down to enjoy the view. Just then, the branch they were sitting on began to crack.  Immediately, the older sister sent her sister toward the tree trunk so she would be safe if the branch broke.  Despite her efforts, the tree was rotten and the little girl fell 3 stories.  Rescue crews came and tended to her - she was barely breathing when the EMTs examined her, but she survived.

At the hospital, after scans and x-rays, the doctors informed the parents that she hadn't broken any bones.  Other than bruises, she didn't have a mark on her.

A few days later, the little girl called her mom - she had discovered that her belly was back to normal.  She looked like a normal 11-year-old with a flat tummy.  Her mother was amazed, but the little girl said, "He told me I would be better."  "Who told you?" the mother asked.


The little girl then told her parents that she had died.  She saw her body that had fallen out of the tree, then she was lead through a magical-looking forest, a beautiful meadow filled with flowers, and finally to a tranquil pool of water.  When she looked into the pool of water, she saw the reflection of the clouds.  She was walking in the clouds.  She came to a very bright light and discovered she was talking to God.  She told him she wanted to stay, but He said she had to go back, but when she did, she would be healed.

At the end of the movie, footage of the real family that went through this whole ordeal was shown.

The whole movie helped me understand how deeply I love my children.  I was with the movie's mother heart and soul - I would do anything to help my kids!  And nothing is impossible with God!

This was my take-away.


This is a real story!  I told her.



"Now I KNOW it's all real!!"  My daughter exclaimed.

"What do you mean?"  I asked

 "Now I know that God, heaven, everything - it's all REAL!!"



I was really thrown for a loop.


So, she hasn't believed that God is real because daddy and I tell her, or because the Bible tells her.  She doesn't believe God and Heaven are real because of Sunday school lessons, VBS,  after school programs, Scripture memory songs, or any amount of Bible stories say He is Real.  


This second-hand story - this movie - provided all the proof she needed to believe God is real.

Because a real person, living today, said He is.


I was speechless.



Glad that the movie spoke to her in that way, but very surprised that all our efforts to prove to her God is real, living, active, and cares who she is and what she does - proved nil.


Ah well - waddle on.

We're trying our best, but as has been proved over and over, sometimes our best doesn't cut it.  Despite our best efforts, God still prevails.  For this, I am truly thankful.




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