I’m so sorry. It seems like everything has changed, or is in the process of doing so. I understand it’s hard, and I wish I could restore the past. I can’t. No person can, and the result is simply emptiness and the pain that accompanies it. So much is different now because the lens has changed. The world and your role in it must look so different, so uncertain. Will anything ever be stable again? Will the world stop spinning so something can take root and grow? Is there a reliable anchor?
Friend, the answer is yes, but maybe not in the way you think.
I’m sorry it’s taken me this long to tell you. I should have done it sooner. I should have told you about this on those fun happy days while we were both smiling. I should have let you know from the outpouring of our joy instead of waiting to offer consolation in your sorrow. I’m so sorry I’ve failed, not just with you but with so many, too many to count.
I was afraid.
I was afraid to tell you my story, afraid you might think I only wanted to convince you to think like I do. I was afraid you might think I was just one of those people — the kind who offer up a list of things you should and shouldn’t do, instead of just loving you for who you are. I’ve never wanted to change you. I was your friend before and I’ll be your friend after, regardless of how you live. But I want to see you live again. You were designed for joy and to live in expectation of what will come next. And you have so many talents, so much to offer. I hate to see you on the sidelines, because we need you to be you.
Your world capsized. Almost everything changed but there is one thing that never will, something no human power on earth or dark power of hell can touch. It was true since the beginning of time, and will never change; it will only grow stronger as you understand it better, and will never fade even if you forget it, or outright reject it. You cannot harm it, cannot destroy it, cannot enchant it away. You can choose to believe it or not, but friend, I believe it.
I never used to, but at some point I was where you are now. I was empty and lost. I was scared of the uncertain future, and knew I was helpless. I needed something in my life to change. I needed to know who I really was, and what I was designed for.
It was in that desperate place where I finally met God. I say God, but let me clarify; I met Jesus Christ, and He transformed my life and showed me my true identity. He took me, cared for me, and presented me as a new creation and it is that, friend — my new identity — that will never change.
Maybe you already know Jesus, but have you forgotten?
Why tell you this now? I don’t know. I don’t know if telling you about Jesus will harm our friendship. Maybe it will, but I hope it won’t. I’m telling you because I want you to experience the healing I’ve received. I want you experience the love I’ve encountered, the supernatural provision He has provided time and time again — stories I’ve never told you about, but I’d like to.
Most of all, I just want to see you smile again. I want to see your joy restored, and for you to know there is someone who cares about you who will never leave you. There is one who will never change even if everything else crumbles. Even if the earth’s foundations fall, Christ will remain, and He will sustain you as He has me and so many others.
Thank you for listening, friend.
Sincerely,
Vince