Movie Magic? Or Movie Miracle?

Have you ever had a bad day and thought that nothing could make it better? Yeah, well that was today for me. Multiple tears were shed, I had lots of stress, and my arm kept getting in the way. Today, I laid there feeling useless. Insignificant. Stupid. Dumb. I kept wondering why the heck all of this was necessary for me to experience. Guess what? I still don’t know. Ta da! Magic! I understand it all! No, I wish.

However, something changed. It sure wasn’t my attitude or how I felt. My parents thought it would be good for me to get out of the house. There’s not much I can do with my big broken arm, but they decided it might be fun to see a movie. I had absolutely no desire to go see a movie. I didn’t want to act spoiled, but I was just so desperately trying to make it through the day, and I didn’t think I could handle a movie. I went anyways.

We went and saw Aladdin. At first, it was just going to be my dad, sister, and me. Instead, the top four oldest got to go. I wasn’t expecting much. In fact, I remember thinking, “Well at least these seats are comfortable enough that I can take a nap if needed.”

Throughout this whole process of not having my arm, struggling with severe depression, and trying to survive the stress, it has been really hard to have faith. Faith in His plan. Faith that there’s a reason for all of this. Faith that I’ll be able to get through it. Faith that I’ll ever get my arm back. (I’ve forgotten what it’s like to have two functioning arms…) Then I have these moments. They are small moments. One would miss them if they didn’t look closely.

I’m telling you–movie magic. Or perhaps something a bit more? A movie miracle? Could God care about something so little and insignificant? Why yes! This has happened twice in my life. I’ve had a terrible day, and I needed some hope. Something to remind me that life has more to offer.

The first time was when I went to go see The Greatest Showman. I remember feeling like life was stupid. I remember feeling desperate for hope. Once again, my parents took me to the movies. With the music…the dancing…the storyline…it all gave me hope. I felt warm tingles start vibrating within my heart, spreading through my legs to my toes. I felt the warmth dance across my skin to my nose and fingertips. I felt alive again. I felt the spirit. Heavenly Father answered a prayer and reminded me that life was worth living. He reminded me that He does care about the details.

It happened again tonight. As Jasmine/Naomi Scott sang “Speechless” part 2, my heart exploded with hope. I saw the light at the end of the tunnel. As she sang, “I won’t be silenced. You can’t keep me quiet” and “I will take these broken wings and watch me burn across the sky” I felt that power. She sang, “‘Cause I’ll breathe when they try to suffocate me” and I felt like this was Heavenly Father telling me to breathe. Do not let this hard time suffocate you. You’ve got this.

Can you believe it? Something so silly as a movie raised my spirits. This is because God cares about the details of our lives. He cares about how we’re feeling and wants to help. He cares about you–right now, here, today, in this very moment. Because you matter to Him. You matter.

So you decide. Was it movie magic, or a modern-day movie miracle?