Letter to John Eldredge for a LAL Competition

Dear Mr. Eldredge,

In the snowy driveway of our twenty-acre parcel of mountain land, I gazed at the thousands of stars shimmering in the somber winter night sky. As I shivered in the darkness, a rhyme drifted into my thoughts: “I want to touch the stars tonight, but I can only reach so far; the chains that bind my heart, keep me from the nearest star.” I stayed in the yard until my toes began to feel numb despite the heavy winter boots I wore. I turned away with a sigh and trudged back to the house. The stars were always flickering beyond my reach.

Or so I thought.

I believed that my deepest longings were exactly like those beautiful stars – they could never be fully attained. My secret hopes were, to me, stunning and utterly breath-taking. I was enraptured by them; my heart would soar whenever they crossed my mind. I would wish with my entire heart that dreams could come true. But brutal reality insisted otherwise. Life chided me to cease chasing after shooting stars and come back to planet Earth. After all, I did have a respectable future with which to be concerned. Graduation was coming in the spring, and college looming on the horizon. Forget what my heart was urging; bury my most fantastical desires.

It was at this point in time that I read Dare to Desire. Although I had been greatly affected by your book Epic, I had no idea of how Dare to Desire would touch my heart. I did not realize how it would change my outlook on life.

In Dare to Desire, you posed a question that made me stop and reread the passage. You asked, “If you could do what you’ve always wanted to do, what would it be?” I can still remember the surge of exhilaration I felt when I read that question. “Anything?” my heart asked. Your book assured me, “Anything.” I knew the answer. I would write – novels, stories, articles, poems, and letters – all for the pure joy of writing. I would play on the heartstrings of my readers; I would inspire them in the same way that I myself had often been inspired. Oh, the pure elation that coursed through my body at the mere thought of this dream! But then I hesitated. Was it possible? Could my desire become my life, or would it remain a haunting pastime which would beg for more attention than I could ever give it?

“It is possible,” Dare to Desire whispered. “If you only dare to desire; if you only dare to follow your heart; if you only dare to accept the adventure God had placed before you.”

My heart came alive within me and I knew my answer. All the passion I had buried burst out in a flood of hope. I would dare to desire.

I have realized that life holds unlimited potential and promise if I follow God’s plan and the deep desires He has set in my heart. For these desires are not fantastical whims, but the foundations of promising goals. Life is giving me an opportunity to follow my heart. Is it dangerous? Certainly, and I know I will probably have more than one agony along the way. But if I have faith in God to carry me through, and if I trust that He will give me “the desires of my heart” as He has promised, then the rewards will outweigh all tragedy.

I have discovered that dreams do come true. I know that desires can be fulfilled.

Tonight, I can touch the stars.

Sincerely,

Lauren Bryan