Article December 24, 1990 Issue

A letter from someone who loves you

Margaret H. Sullivan

When your mom told me that you'd run away and how upset you were when your dad came to get you, I wanted to do something right away. I've been wishing I could sit with you—maybe just tell you I love you and that you do have the courage and strength to face all the things that seem so overwhelming right now. There's no magic formula that will guarantee a "happy ending," but I would be less than a friend to you and your family if I didn't at least encourage you to turn to God and pray for a way out of all the unhappiness and turmoil. I may not know what the answer is, but I do know that prayer will get you going in the right direction.

At one point (I was only a little older than you are now) I really had no place to go but forward. I quit school and started working, but I soon felt more locked in than ever. All the things I thought I was missing while I was in school weren't quite as fun or satisfying as I thought they'd be. I needed help and a reason to go on. From other things I had faced I could admit that praying for answers would help; but I didn't have a clear idea of how. At that point my prayers were like very fine golden threads gradually weaving their way through my life. Little by little I began to lean on God. Through God's love, not just feeling it but expressing it, I discovered who I really am—God's child. I began to see more clearly how to express His love in my relationships with others. I began to feel, too, that I could depend on this love to supply strength and a wonderful peace within me.

Over time, as I made spiritual progress, my relationship with my parents became good again, in fact much stronger than it had ever been. I started school again and had a better idea of why I was there. It was a time of learning to let God show me my true selfhood.

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