Kelsey’s Letter - By Dan Ryan

Monday, 10. December 2007 by Dan Ryan

When God enters the picture, it’s funny how the mundane and routine morph into the extraordinary and sacred.
Last week, I was working on a letter of recommendation for Kelsey, a senior applying to both Illinois and Stanford. Now I’m not exactly sure why I love writing those letters—I’m only certain that I do. Underneath it all, I’ve come to realize I view those letters as a sacred task. They’ve become this neat opportunity to celebrate that person.
On Friday, Kelsey stopped in my classroom to check on my progress. Ninety percent done, I asked her to skim the letter and see what I had overlooked. This letter was for Stanford, after all.
When she finished reading, Kels looked rather perplexed. With furrowed brow, she stood there without saying a word. And while Kelsey remains the undisputed, lovable master of quizzical facial expressions, I could sense something was out of place.

“Did I overlook something?”
“Oh no, no. I liked it a lot. It’s really good…”
“Well, then?”
“It’s just I don’t see how I’m all those things.”

And with that, Kels was out the door. Her words, however, stayed.
For the rest of the school day, I couldn’t shake Kels’ last comment. If someone had written a letter of recommendation for me, I concluded that I would’ve reacted much the same. Why is that?
Why is it that we often squirm when receiving a compliment? Why are human beings actually more comfortable in the face of criticism than praise? It seems so backwards, so counterintuitive…so true.
After all, we know ourselves better than anyone else. I know who I really am, and it’s not pretty. Luckily…

“The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will He harbor His anger forever; He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” –Psalm 103:9-12

I’m not sure about you, but I don’t get how far the east is from the west at all. That makes zero sense to me. Which, in turn, makes this the perfect metaphor seeing as how it’s equally nonsensical how God could possibly see sinless perfection when He gazes down at you and me.
At one point in the Old Testament, God has Jeremiah take notes as He outlines His plan to restore His people to Him. You get the sense that He’s some prosecutor hired to gain evidence on the Israelites, yet as soon as God finds some dirt on them, He somehow manages to suspiciously “lose” it. 

“ ‘In those days, at that time,’ declares the Lord, ‘search will be made for Israel’s guilt, but there will be none, and for the sins of Judah, but none will be found…’ ” –Jeremiah 50:20

None will be found. Gone (somewhere between the east and west, presumably).
So Friday night, after school I spontaneously decided to head to my old church in the heart of UI’s campus. I walked into God’s house, sat down, and asked my Father for a favor. I asked Him to kindly write a letter of recommendation for me. And if He didn’t mind, I’d just sit there and listen. Before I knew it, I had caught myself in one of those weird I’m-smiling-and-nobody’s-even-around moments.
I think He loved writing that letter. Did it ever occur to you that our God loves to celebrate you and me? And as I tried hard to listen to what He wrote, I shared Kelsey’s sentiments: I just don’t see how I’m all those things. 

“So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. He says, ‘I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation, I will sing your praises.’ ”—Hebrews 2:12

Whoa—He’s singing our praises? Jesus is saying, “You may find this hard to believe, but I brag on you to my friends up here in heaven.”
Must’ve been some letter.