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Jennifer Garner on Faith, Doubt, and “Miracles From Heaven”

Jennifer Garner on Faith, Doubt, and “Miracles From Heaven”

Last updated on: March 16, 2016 at 11:43 am by Tony Rossi

Jennifer Garner on Faith, Doubt, and “Miracles From Heaven” 2016-03-16T11:43:01-05:00 Tony Rossi

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The movie “Miracles From Heaven” starring Jennifer Garner opens today. As the official synopsis states, “it’s based on the incredible true story of the Beam Family. When Christy Beam (Jennifer Garner) discovers her 10-year-old daughter Annabel (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’s faith restored and their community inspired…Annabel Beam’s recovery from a debilitating disorder defied medical explanations. Anna’s mom, Christy, knew it was a miracle. When the accident and surrounding crisis had passed, Anna spoke of heaven and of seeing Jesus.”

Garner made some news recently by saying that working on “Miracles From Heaven” (along with her marital problems) led her to start taking her kids to church, something she personally grew up doing with her own parents.

To promote the film, Garner answered questions today via video on her official Facebook page about making the movie, what she believes about the real Annabel, and how the movie affected her own beliefs. You can watch the video at this link, but here is a transcript of a few questions and answers:

Q: What is your biggest takeaway about the Beam family?

Jennifer Garner: There’s something otherworldly about Annabel. My biggest takeaway would be about Annabel because every time people talk to her, [they ask] if she experienced a miracle. And I just want to tell you, from my point of view having spent a ton of time with this little girl, she is the most honest, authentic person I have pretty much ever met in my life. I would believe anything the child said. There really is an old soul in there, and a very centered, calm, spiritual person. She’s not trying to shove anything down your throat. She’s just trying to share her story because people seem to want to hear it. She is actually healed. It is a miracle. It’s a beautiful thing to see.

Q: Were there any changes in your beliefs, faith, or the way you look at life from the time you started filming until now? If so, what were they?

Jennifer: I would not say that there were any great changes in my own personal beliefs, but I would say that the film reaffirmed what I already believed – and that is a really nice thing, too. You don’t have to go through some huge change. Maybe sometimes, things can just be brought more to the surface and we can benefit from that. So that was a real gift of the movie, and I’m grateful to the Beams for that little nudge.

Q: What motivated you to participate in this type of film?

Jennifer: I think, Suzy, what you mean is a film that has faith as an element to the story. I did not decide to do the film because there was faith in it. I decided to do the film because I was moved by Christy’s story. And Christy is very much a person of faith. What I love is that it’s not just black and white, clean, pretty. She has doubts, she struggles, and we talk about that struggle in the movie. I think anybody who has any kind of faith should be able to push and pull at it and question it and not believe for a while and come back to it. That’s the whole point. So I like that is a part of the film, and I think the film isn’t preachy at all. It just shows you the way that this family got through what they got through – and that happens to be really beautiful.

Q: Did you believe in miracles going into this or did the movie change your mind?

Jennifer: I did believe in miracles, and I still do.

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