You Missed This In "Miracles From Heaven"

Warning: The following article contains spoilers for the movie, "Miracles From Heaven."

Miracles from heaven is a feel good story based off of true events. It is centered around a girl who has a bowel disease, and tells the story of her endeavors to get healed from the incurable. In her quest she goes all the way from Texas to Chicago to meet a specialized Doctor. He tells her that there is no cure but helps her live a more normal life. In a twist of fate she falls down the inside of a hollow tree and hits her head. The blow to her head triggers something in her brain which makes her bowels work normally again, and she's miraculously cured from her disease. The end of the movie reveals all the little miracles that happened throughout the story that the audience was unaware of. Miracles such as a friend coming to help them even though they're caring for a baby, a receptionist getting them their appointment, and a waitress telling her crabby boss that she couldn't come in the next day so that she could show the girl and her mother around Chicago. The moral of the story: live as if everyday is a miracle.

But there's another story in "Miracles From Heaven" that most of the audience was unaware of. It has to do with the receptionist who got them their appointment. The specialist they were trying to see had a six months waiting list that they were on, but they flew to Chicago anyway in hopes of seeing him. In tears, The mother explains to the receptionist that they really need this appointment. The receptionist reveals that she has only worked for the hospital a couple weeks. She proclaims that she really needs this job and that she has to do as she's told. Later, at the end of the movie, we see that she boldly stepped into a meeting room where the doctor was having a conference to get them their appointment. She introduces herself to him as the "new receptionist." This is all we see of her story except for a joyful hug with the mother at the end.

There is more to it than that, however. Whether she was aware if it or not, the receptionists story is parallel to one from the Bible, one we all know quite well. The story is of Esther. Esther is known for being a bit of an ambiguous book in the Bible because it does not mention God. In fact Martin Luther tried to remove Esther from the Bible. Esther tells the story of a young girl who became Queen. She was adopted by her cousin Mordecai, and was a Jew. Later, when the King's evil advisor Haaman tried to have all the Jews killed, Mordecai convinced Esther to go before the king and plead for their lives. This was a big deal because anyone who went before the king uninvited would be killed. Esther was scared to go before the king but Mordecai convinced her that she had come to the position of queen for, "Such a time is this." The queen gathered her courage and foiled Haamam's plans.

Just like Esther, the receptionist in "Miracles From Heaven" had to gather her courage to appear before the doctor. She wasn't in danger of losing her life, but could have lost her job. Because of her, the girl got the treatment she needed. She did what she knew was right even though it could have gotten her fired.

Just like Esther and the receptionist, we also need to have the courage to do what is right. The Bible says that when we know what we should do and don't do it it is a sin. The great thing about both these stories that, however, is that they both show how God intervenes for us. He will not allow anything to happen to us of it is not in His plan. And He protects those who walk according to his word. He promises never to leave us or forsake us. Now, I don't know how real the story about the receptionist is, but the story about Esther is completely true. It is an example we should all follow.