Miracle Season
Rarely does a movie make me cry like the Miracle Season. It’s not that I’m heartless but truthfully I just don’t get immersed in a movie, I’m too much a realist. It’s fake. These people are actors. The story is made up.
Okay so it is a movie, these people are actors but it is based on a true story. The Miracle Season is inspiring. It is based up Caroline Found a volleyball player and the impact she had on her parents, her friends, and her community. And, it’s a tear-jerker.
Providentially, I didn’t even watch the movie in one sitting. I can’t imagine what an emotional wreck I would be if I had! As it was my husband found me sniffing, watching the movie on my laptop, perched on a container of flour as I was stir frying dinner. You know how we working moms can multi-task. The company that made the movie is our network sponsor, but I volunteered to write the review, without payment.
I was super busy the day I received the preview link, deadlines crying out to be met…podcasts and several phone calls all vying for my attention. Yes, even though I’ve completed my homeschool journey my days seemed filled with even more mayhem then my homeschool days. So, I watched the movie on my laptop in three different time segments during the course of the day, and still, the impact was hard!
Why I loved the Miracle Season … and I don’t often use the word love with a movie title.
The character of Caroline was impulsive, reckless, but she had heart. She loved. And, she lived. She had hardships in her life, her mother was dying of cancer. Yet, she was joyous. It is that joy that surpasses all understanding, to anyone looking in, the joy that comes from within a person–but is infused by a higher force. I call this the Holy Spirit. The movie is about the impact of her death on her family and friends, especially her volleyball team that is left with the state competitions as their season begins and no center.
This will be our year. And it was The Miracle Season…
But not in the way that Caroline expected. “This will be our year.” That’s what Caroline’s last words were to her best friend. This year would be the best. It would be remembered. It would be something that would impact them forever. And, it did just not as Caroline planned. This movie makes you think of the could of, should have, would have moments in our lives. Are we invincible? Teens think they are and that is why this is a movie that I’d recommend for every invincible teenager out there. I want my boys to see this, and my daughter even though they are 22, 20 and 17. For kids 13 and up it is a must see. It will make them think.
While the movie centers around a high school and sports, it is bigger than just another sports movie. It is about being a friend. Friendships among teens tend to be fickle. We know this given our own experiences with friendships, many that are better left forgotten. In this case, the friendship’s impact transcends death. And that is what I loved. I loved that her spirit and short time on earth was spent loving and being joyous to the best of her ability. Like sports, Caroline (Line as she was known to her family and friends), gave it her all.
She understood her friends. She had her coach’s back. She loved her mother throughout her sickness and was her biggest encourager and champion. She loved her father, and her extended family the community. She just loved.
Caroline loved.
The character of Caroline depicted in the Miracle Season showed that kind of love that is selfless and it is giving. That is the way I want my children to be, to grow up to love not as they are loved but to love in a sense that all who see them understand God’s love.
If I have one critique of the movie it is about downplaying faith in the character of Caroline. Where did she get her love? Why did she grow up that way? We are told it was the example of her mother, I’m sure this is true, but additionally, it comes from a deeper source. That source is God. There is a scene where the father struggles after his daughter’s death. The pastor is understanding and thankfully seen in a good light. Many times pastors are portrayed as silly or passive. Neither happened in this case. The pastor is willing to listen and help. However, I would have liked to have dialogue that was more pervasive about the very essence of who Caroline was and her relationship with God. I’m certain she had one. No one can love that way and not be touched by God.
And that is the reason I recommend seeing this film with your teens. It is an example to all of us in how to live a life showing God’s love to others. Having each other’s back, giving confidence and support to those who are hurting. To just be like Caroline. The ending was very uplifting and I won’t spoil it but it centers around the grieving father coming to terms with his loss.
Did you see the movie? It comes out on April 6th – and if so, what did you think?
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