Beam: It's so amazing, but I thought the whole purpose I wrote the book was cathartic. I felt God told me to do it because I needed healing and needed all this to come out, and then put it in a well-wrapped box with a bow and forget about it. But He had so much greater a plan and brought in brilliant people who made it go above and beyond, like my literary agent, and producer Devon Franklin for the movie, and it was really all just a part of a bigger plan.
Q: Was your own faith was shaken, and then strengthened, by all of this?
Beam: I just had a lot of support. Kevin my husband is such a rock, and has a solid foundation in his faith. Plus I had his parents and my parents. Anytime I began to get frustrated, overwhelmed asking God where He is, they were right there to refer me back to His Word. And I had strong friends who had me read the book of Job while Annabel was going through this. God purposely surrounded me with friends and family to help me when I was struggling. They gave me the strength I needed. They were the miracle I needed to make it through that difficult time, and we encourage you to be that person for other people.
Q: Is there a particular cause you're associated with now that people can help?
Beam: We're going to go to Boston this weekend for a screening to raise funds for the Annabel Research and Care Fund for Pseudo-Obstruction Motility Disorder. We encourage people to give to that and learn about it because there's so much to learn in order to try and cure this disorder.
Q: Ultimately, what do you hope people take away from "Miracles from Heaven"?
Beam: It's such an encouragement because everybody has struggles, everybody has challenges, and if you don't have one now, you better buckle up because you're going to go through one. People can go through challenges with faith, or without, and I'd much rather go through a challenge with faith than without it. This is a story we hope inspires people and challenges them to keep trying, keep fighting through their own struggles because ultimately there's a bigger purpose.
"Miracles from Heaven" opens in theaters nationwide today.
