Miracles from Heaven

Cheryl Gowin and Dennis Gowin.  Call us at our counseling practice with your feedback, comments, issues, or questions at 434-808-2637.

Have you read the book “Miracles from Heaven”?  Last Saturday was a cold, rainy day; just perfect for reading a good novel.  The book’s plot is about a young, chronically ill girl, Anna, who falls head first down the inside of a hollow tree and is healed from her incurable illness.  The author of the book is Christy Beam, the young girl’s mother.  You will probably agree this is a nice uplifting read in front of a fire on the first rainy weekend of fall.

The amazing aspect of this book is that it deals with more than the simple plot about the healing of a young girl.  The narrative of the book expands into the family system around this young girl.  And again, it is a happy story about a family that grows together while dealing with the many struggles life throws at them.

The mother recounts each family member’s person struggle as he or she, within the family system, deals with Anna’s life threatening illness.

Christy outlines her struggles with depression.  “It gave me a new way to think about my own struggles with depression, which feels a lot like being dropped into a deep, dark hole that you can’t claw your way out of.  The people who love you are right close by – oh, they could reach out and touch you, and they want to, they are desperate to get to you – but you’re locked inside this impenetrable shell, and it seems like there’s no light, no air, no way out that you can see, and so you just curl up into a little ball and sit there.  There’s no way loved ones can know what’s really happening to you, and there’s no way you can ever understand what hell they’re going through as they struggle to save you.”

Kevin, the father, struggles with his inability to “fix” the problem.  Kevin faces his personal struggle of not being able to find a cure for his daughter as well as watching his wife sink into depression.  He also faces financial struggles and the hit to his pride caused by asking his partners for financial support as well as work schedule flexibility.

Abbie, the oldest sister, has what Christy describes as “a heart full of mercy and a staunch sense of responsibility.”  Abbie’s personality traits create in her a sense of blame; a feeling that Anna’s fall was her fault.  Abbie takes responsibility for things beyond her control.

The youngest sister is Adelyn.  Adelyn spends the first few years of her life shuffled between caring family members and friends, while Anna is at various medical facilities.  Adelyn could have been very easily lost in an overwhelming family dynamics dealing with Anna’s illness.  However, again, the family and friends support Adelyn and allow her to grow into her own sense of self.

Christy talks about the team effort it took to get young Anna out of the center of the tree;  the neighbors, firefighters, medical personal as well as faith, love and patience.  Woven through every story line in the book are examples of this team effort.  The Beams reach out and depend on their friends, family, church family as well as medical professionals to help them in various ways.  Is one of the miracles that the Beams were not afraid to reach and get the help they needed in times of trials?

The title of this book is Miracles from Heaven; the word miracles is plural.  If you have a chance, read the book and see how many miracles you can identify.  The miracles are much more than a young girl’s healing from a serious illness.  The struggles encountered could have created a family dynamics that destroyed the family.  One miraculous miracle is that through all the struggles, the family system stays healthy and intact.

Enjoy a great read!

He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.  He reveals mysteries from the darkness and brings the deep darkness into light.  Job 9:10, 12:22

Call us with your feedback,  our phone number is 434-808-2637.