Actress Jennifer Garner, who plays Christy Beam in "Miracles From Heaven," opened up about faith and her family following the film's premiere this weekend, saying she now takes her children to church during a Monday appearance on "Good Morning Texas." The movie is set to release on March 16.
In the upcoming drama, Garner, 43, plays a mother whose faith is restored when her daughter is cured from a severe digestive disorder after falling 30 feet inside a hollow tree. The movie is based on the real-life saga of Texas mom Christy Beam, who joined Garner on Monday for the morning TV segment in Dallas.
Garner, who was born in Texas, was asked by host Jane McGarry why she wanted to do this particular movie: "Did you want to talk about faith and God?"
The 43-year-old actress said she loved the message of hope in the movie. "I love how inspiring the film is. But I also really connected with Christy just from reading the book and from reading the script, and I wanted to honor what she and Annabel and the whole family went through."
When McGarry asked about if she went to church in Hollywood, and if that was "weird," Garner admitted it did seem strange.
"I grew up going to church every Sunday of my life, and when I did move to L.A., it wasn't something that was just part of the culture in the same way, at least in my life. But it didn't mean that I lost who I was," explained Garner.
"But there was something about doing this film, and talking to my kids about it and realizing that they were looking for the structure of church every Sunday. So it was a great gift of this film that it took us back to finding our local Methodist church and going every Sunday. It's really sweet."
Annabel Beam, the young girl at the heart of the movie and the book by the same name, had suffered from pseudo-obstruction motility disorder for years. The disease often required tube-feeding and hospital stays.
Diagnosed at age 4 with this chronic digestive disorder, 8-year-old Annabel Beam experienced intense pain and frequent hospital visits, report Today last year. "She was always so sweet and gracious," her father, Kevin, said. "She wasn't making a big deal out of it, and she was suffering in silence."
Annabel said she bumped her head three times on the way down inside the hollowed-out base of the tree. But after falling and visiting Heaven, Annabel became asymptomatic.
Texan Annabel Beam is the real-life inspiration for a new movie to be released next month,
