Hi Shauna,
My husband would tell you this letter is long overdue. He'd tell you how he's bugged me for months to write you, even going to lengths of offering rewards. Promises of dinner and gifts were tempting, but still, I did not write. A lot held me back, and I usually brushed off his suggestions with a quick "no".
You see, your words have meant a lot to me. I have been influenced and encouraged by your writing in powerful, life-giving ways. I have seen God's hope in your stories and his promise of peace in your experiences. You've pointed me to so much good, and I'm thankful for your part in the Kingdom. But I'll admit, I do not want to be "that" person. I don't want to be starstruck or flakey about a woman who writes, preaches, and serves Jesus with her life. You are a person, not an icon or superhero.
Please know I say this all with admiration for you and with awareness of my own need for humility. I'm worried I'll look like a silly fangirl to a woman I respect and value so much. And in that worry, I see a weird pride rise up in me. Instead of focusing on my insecurities, though, let me instead tell you how I appreciate you and the way you serve Christ.
I began reading one of your books last year on a flight to Ecuador. My husband and I were leading a group of college students to serve there, and frankly, I was not excited. I was focused on my own pain and disappointment, and the last thing I needed was a mission trip. I pulled out your book and before I knew it, I was weeping in the middle of 20 college students. Something was breaking in me, and your words of honesty and hope brought the renewal my heart needed.
That time in Ecuador allowed me to digest God's Truth in fresh ways, and your words helped initiate that process. I turned to God and his people to illuminate the good he'd started in me long before.
Since then, I've read more of your words, and I have consistently been encouraged. You have a way of acknowledging the reality of this often painful, uncomfortable life, while simultaneously providing hope for the good that is all around. I've been comforted by your familiar words of frustration and pain after losing a child. I've fallen in love with food and what it brings to relationships. And I've relearned the beauty of community when we make room for people and their messes.
I recently read a blog of yours about the significance of our words. You wrote of an old friend who took a few minutes and some purposeful words to affirm you. I am a hopeful-writer, one who dreams about God's possibilities and at the same time fears I may not be able to do it. I am ridiculously thankful for your words that have reminded me that "good" looks like whatever God wants it to. I am walking towards hopefulness, and I am seeking God's best.
Like the friend did for you, I want to give my words away purposefully. I oversee 118 girls in a college dorm, and I have many opportunities to use my words well. I want to speak words of truth and affirmation to these women. Likewise, I want to speak of the women who have influenced my life - some through personal relationship and others through written or spoken words. You have been one of those women in my life. Your stories have snuck into conversations with students and friends, and I've realized how thankful I am for your personality on those pages. And with you, I look to other women who have gone before me and written or spoken or acted in ways that make my life richer. I've started writing about these women, using my words to affirm their influence and beauty imparted on this world. Again, I find myself in a place of gratitude for women who seek the Father and powerfully communicate his story.
Shauna, I do not know or presume to know you beyond your writing, but I have found such connection in your words. I pray you know your value and ability as a writer every day. I am young and less experienced in writing, but I imagine the days can be discouraging. May you continue to write with boldness and influence, and may your words continue to bring hope. I so appreciate who you are.
Gratefully,
Jess