LETTERS TO GOD — THE MOVIE

I have watched this movie more than once and it always touches my heart.  I watched it again last night and decided to share it with those of you that have not seen it yet.

Letters to God is about an eight year old boy who has a strong faith and shows extraordinary courage as he faces a battle with brain cancer.  He lives with his mom and older brother, Ben.  His dad had died suddenly.

Tyler Doherty writes letters to God and puts them in his mailbox for the mail carrier to pick up.  The regular mail carrier takes a leave of absence and is replaced by a young guy named Brady Mc Daniels.

As Tyler writes his daily letters, Brady has major problems of his own to deal with.  He is lost, floundering, and trying to cope through a bottle of alcohol.  His wife has left him and taken their son because he was driving drunk with his little boy in the back seat.

The first day on his postal route, Brady is chased by a dog, gets tangled into a sprinkler system hose, and at the end of the route, Tyler throws up all over Brady’s shoes.  He goes to a bar and gets drunk.  The bartender sees the stack of Tyler’s letters that Brady is carrying and jokingly tells him to take them to the church.

He takes them to the church and talks to the minister.  The minister tells him that he believes God put the letters in Brady’s hands for a reason and that he is the caretaker of those letters.  He tells Brady to listen to God and let God tell him what to do with them.  Then he prays for Brady and asks God to help Brady discover the plan that God has for him concerning the letters.

When the minister asks Brady how it feels to be on a mission for God, Brady just laughs and walks out.

When Tyler goes back to school one of the boys, Alex, makes fun of him and is mean to him, making Tyler wonder why.

Tyler’s friend, Samantha, has a grandfather who tells Tyler he has been chosen to be one of God’s warriors.  He tells Tyler that when people see how strong he is, even when he is as sick as he is, it makes people look at their own lives and that is why they make fun of him.  He tells Tyler that it is his job to point people to God.

Tyler acts on what Samantha’s grandfather told him and decides to write a letter to Alex, hoping Alex will turn to God for the answers.

While Tyler is fighting the disease, his mom is struggling with her faith, angry with God for her husband’s death and Tyler’s illness.  Ben searches to find any faith at all and  Brady struggles to overcome his need of alcohol.  Tyler prays with Alex and Samantha and asks God to help Alex find Him.  Samantha admits afterward that she prayed to accept Jesus as her Savior during Tyler’s prayer.

Tyler is told he is done with the treatments, and his soccer coach asks him if he can play in their next game.  He plays for a little bit, but then collapses on the field.

They find out his cancer is worse and Tyler’s mom blames Brady because he is the one that convinced her to let Tyler play.

It is in this sea of pain that Brady reads all of those letters Tyler has written to God and realizes what he must do with them.

It is a decision that touches hundreds of lives.

Letters to God is a touching, heart-wrenching story of faith.  It shows clearly how God’s strength is made perfect through our weakness; and how that strength can shine through us to reach others for Him.

It is based on a true story.

© Drusilla Mott and https://drusillamott.wordpress.com, 2011