Dear John

Dear John,
Whenever God seems so far away and I grow discouraged over the things of this world l often reach for your book. The way you write makes Him become so real to me. It's powerful, sometimes too powerful, creating a love so intense that sometimes I have to put your book down and reach for  another. You make my heart ache to be with Him. I like how you refer to yourself as the one who Jesus loved. I wonder if you were thinking about how He created you to be one of His closest earthly friends and what a special privilege that was. You write so humbly and honestly. My favorite parts are when He said, "before Abraham was, I AM." How amazing that must have been to hear Him say that, and know! I also love what you wrote about Jesus and Mary in the garden that first Easter morning. I wish I could have secretly watched that moment in history. I wish I could have seen His face when He talked to her and then looked at her and said her name. And then you end your book with, "there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written." Someday I will be able to thank you in person for your book and ask Him about all those other things.

Until then,
 Annaliese