Letters to God

I haven’t written anything in a while, but I need to write today.  I just finished watching a movie called Letters to God.  It’s based on the true story of a boy who has brain cancer and all through his treatment wrote letters to God everyday talking about the people in his life and how they needed help.  Occasionally he asked for strength for himself, but most of the time he just wrote about the needs of others.  He would then put the letter in an envelope with a stamp and the simple address – “To: God, From: Tyler”  The mailman who got their mail would read these letters and in the movie you see how Tyler’s influence changes this man’s life.  As the movie went along Tyler invited other people to write letters to God and we watch as the letter’s change them too.

At the end of the movie the mailman realizes that people need to know that Tyler was thinking about them through his whole ordeal and so he reads all of the letters and then takes them to the people who the letters were about.  As each person reads their letter they are touched by his thoughtful concern for them even though he had his own trials.  The last scene of the movie is Tyler on his deathbed.  His mom gives him permission to let go.  Then there is a series of clips of people writing letters to God about Tyler. 

As I watched these last few moments of the movie tears began to flow down my face and I sat on the couch in my living room and wept.  Not tears of sadness that Tyler died, but tears of joy at the lives he was able to make better in his 9 year life.

I try so hard to be who the Lord needs me to be and to change lives for the better.  I’m still learning and still growing, but I hope that someday I will be able to help people to be better like that little boy with cancer did.  I may never succeed, but I will also never stop trying.