What If God Wrote You This Letter
By Chris Palmer, M.A.
Founder, FigureOutYourLife.com
I haven’t told you everything I know. So there is a lot that won’t make sense in your life.
You’re going to see good people die.
You’re going to see things that look unfair.
And you’re going to be angry with me.
I don’t want to hurt you. If you look at everything you’ve ever known, I hope you see that most things tend to work out for the good.
And I know there are these terrible things that happen that make faith seem impossible.
It’s just so hard because I tried to make a world where people are completely free. Because when you’re truly free, you can do anything you choose, good or bad.
So bad choices happen. It’s the tough part of being free. And sometimes bad things happen for reasons we can’t even see at the time.
But if you’re not completely free — and that means free to be good or bad — you can never really love. And that’s what I want for you.
Love.
It’s the one thing that makes everything better, makes everything worth it, and makes your life feel like a life.
Everything else is details.
Or worse.
Because the absence of love is misery. And that leads to bad choices that hurt everyone. And those choices make you question life.
If I intervened, it could take away your freedom. If I lived down the street, people might do as I say because they were scared of me punishing them.
I don’t want that.
I only want you to love me if you feel it. Not because you’re scared of me.
And I want you to be free.
So I hold back unless you ask for help. That way you don’t have to feel obligated to love me or care about me.
I love you so much that I want you to be completely free to choose the life you want. Even if that means never choosing to believe in me.
It has to be so hard for you. You must feel so alone at times.
But you’re not. Because you have love.
No one goes through life without being loved by someone. And we all feel love. It’s just a matter of whether we see it, appreciate it, and nurture it.
When you treat love as a gift, everything changes.
And when you treat love as a solution, everything gets better.
That’s what I want for you: love in everything.
Sure there will still be pain. That’s the rough part of having freedom. If you were all robots programmed to only do good, where is your choice? Your freedom? Your chance to feel truly alive?
And love.
It makes every moment worth it.
If you ask the elderly what they regret, it’s always the same things. They wished they lived more and loved more. And they wished they didn’t let fear get in the way.
That’s all. They don’t wish they had more stuff. Just more love.
My eyes fill with tears when I see your pain. I want to take it all away.
That’s why there’s love.
You deserve it.
I know this letter doesn’t answer everything for you. But I hope it gives you some hope.
Your life is special. You have so much power to go after the things that make you feel alive.
So you can choose to keep all that power to yourself and hide away in bitterness over all that seems unfair.
Or you can unleash your gift — your love — and share it with the world.
You can do it in actions, loud and quiet. Even anonymously.
And sadly, not everyone will receive it well. Goodness is strange and rare in a world of so much selfishness. So sometimes people don’t know what to make of it.
Do it anyway.
But only if you really want to.
This is your life. And the love you have is yours to keep.
Or share.
It’s your choice. Always.
But for what it’s worth, I’ve never known anyone who didn’t feel better by unselfishly showing love or regard for another.
It almost doesn’t make sense: giving is really a kind of receiving. It’s the truth.
So please know that you matter. And your life has the chance to be amazing.
And your love and light can change the world.
It’s always up to you.
So please don’t forget. You are severely loved. And your light always matters.
Always.
