There’s no other explanation: The Beams experienced a miracle.
Christy and Kevin Beam were out of options for their daughter Annabel. Their precious little girl suffered from two life threatening and painful illnesses. There were no cures for Pseudo-Obstruction Motility Disorder and Antral Hypomotility Disorder. One day, however, that all changed when Annabel decided to climb a tree.
In December 2011, Annabel was playing with her sister in a tree in the backyard of their home in Burleson, Texas. Annabel was dangling off of a fragile branch, when she suddenly plummeted 30 feet through the hollow cottonwood tree. She hit her head three times on the way down. Yet, it what can only be described as a miracle, Annabel was removed from the tree without injury.
That’s not all.
Soon after her frightening tumble, Annabel was mysteriously healed of the chronic diseases that had plagued her her whole life. Three years later, she is still a picture of health.
That’s also not all.
A few days after Annabel was rescued from the tree, she told her parents that she had gone to Heaven. For the next few years, she would share more and more vivid details about her trip to the afterlife. Oh and as for that tree, the Beams carved a cross into its base, and when a storm knocked the tree down earlier this year, the trunk and the cross was the only part left standing.
Knowing her daughter's miraculous healing was too significant to keep to herself, Christy decided to put Annabelle’s amazing story into a book. She compiled all the notes and journal entries she had written during her daughter’s recovery to help her recall important facts. The result was “Miracles From Heaven: A Little Girl, Her Journey to Heaven, and Her Amazing Story of Healing,” which is released in stores today and is available for purchase online. Before the official release date, Christy spoke to Townhall about her new book, her daughter’s courage, and how it has affected her family for the better.
Did you believe in miracles before Annabelle fell from the tree and was cured?
“I did. I did believe in miracles. You always feel like that is something amazing and wonderful that can happen to someone else, not necessarily something that would happen to me. I believed it and I knew they happened and I knew people in our church who had experienced amazing miracles in their lives but I hadn’t necessarily thought about it applying to my life.”
Does she still surprise you with new details about her experience in Heaven?
“Yes. I just remember sitting there and all I could say was, ‘Really?’ All was just a silence, I was shocked. The way that she shared it so matter-of-fact. That was it, that was all she had to share at that time. Then later she would trickle in little bits of information and it would be at the most random times. It was almost when her heart was ready to share, on her terms. It was usually when I wasn’t expecting it. I had to redirect my thinking and think, ‘What in the world is she saying? That is amazing.’”
How does Annabel feel about all the media attention?
“She is such a humble child. She has such a sweet heart. Her desire truly is for others to gain hope and faith from her story. She just feels that God blessed her. She truly believes and says, ‘God blessed me with this story and I feel like I need to use my story to encourage and give others hope. Her biggest thing she says is, even though she’s 12, she says ‘I want people to understand that you have to have faith and you can’t ever give up. You have to keep praying. Just because you pray today for God to take your headache away or make your stomach stop hurting, it doesn’t mean that he’s going to answer that prayer today or tomorrow, but it doesn’t mean that he’s not. We don’t ever know and that’s why you have to keep praying and have hope and be faithful. Her biggest funny thing, the only thing she really says that is media-related, ‘I sure hope I meet Selena Gomez one day.’”
Christy's book is going to be turned into a major motion picture by Bishop T.D. Jakes, Joe Roth, and Devon Frank, the same Sony producing team behind “Heaven is For Real.”
How do you feel about her story being made into film? How does Annabel feel about it?
“I am excited. It’s a little weird to wrap my brain around someone trying to portray all that we went through and all that I endured and to give that over and say, 'Okay this is my life, this is what we did,' and trust them to do it justice. That’s a little scary, but I know that these people are amazing people. I feel strongly they’re going to do it quite well. I’m not concerned that the portrayal will not be accurate. Annabelle again, she thinks it’s wonderful and she hopes it changes lives, bring people closer to Christ. But, her funny thing again is, ‘Maybe Selena Gomez can play my role.’”
How has your family’s relationship with God changed since Annabel’s fall and miraculous recovery?
“There was just this dramatic reality who God was. But we have always been strong believers and being faithful to our relationship in Christ and how faithful Christ is to us. We were pretty fervent to begin with before it all started. But, my biggest ‘aha!’ moment was really how I looked back and I could count the moments of faithfulness when he was faithful to us. It really challenged my heart. ‘How are you responding to faithfulness in Christ? Can you count the ways your faithful every day to Him?’ That’s really challenged me to make those active acts of faithfulness. As opposed to just saying, ‘I’m praying and being faithful,’ where are you physically moving forward in your life and being faithful?”
Annabelle shared her miraculous story herself on the Today Show. You can watch her appearance below.