UNEXPECTED ENCOURAGEMENT

I was going through some old papers today and came across an e-mail from Kim Alexis.  It was written on December 22, 2006.  In my entire life, I've only received two personal messages from famous people--one from Kim and the other from Earl Hamner, the creator of the long running TV series, The Waltons.   If you don't know who Kim Alexis is, you must be under forty.  She was the most popular supermodel of her time in the eighties.  Today she is an outspoken Christian woman.  She's also a wife and a mother of grown children.  The last I saw her anywhere was on TV when she was hosting, She's Got The Look, a reality show and modeling competition that featured women in their thirties, forties, and beyond.

I remember writing to Kim back in 2006 to tell her how much I loved her book, A Model For  A Better Future.  I sent her a card and she sent a Christmas photo of her family  many months later.  I remember her telling me that she responds more quickly to e-mail, so she gave me her e-mail address.  Months later, I wrote to her again at that address.  I don't remember exactly what I wrote, but I remember that I was feeling very discouraged and disssatisfied with the direction my life had taken.  I hoped that maybe she could give me some advice to get me through that difficult time.  After reading her book, I knew that she had been through great adversity and she would understand.  This is what she wrote back:

Danelle,

Hope deferred makes the heart sick.  That is probably what you read in the Bible.  I read what you wrote, and it reminds me a bit of me.  I have had years now of hanging back and "being normal" and not working or being in the business.  It would have been natural to just let it go and be a wife and mother BUT I still have this drive and desire to GET BACK OUT THERE.  I have things to say to women.  I have been put through the fire and passed the test.  Keep your eyes focused on Him.  He will give you the desires of your heart.  Why do you have this drive and desire in your heart to reach many?  Maybe God put it there.

To much is given, much is required. 
Out of great death, comes great life!!!

Keep this message and read it daily as it must be from God.  
Blessings to you this Christmas season
Kim Alexis
(See I told you I was better with e-mail, Faster huh?)

It never ceases to amaze me how God sends encouragement at the exact time when I need it most.  It could come in the form of a phone call, a card, a letter, a book, a magazine article, a song, spoken words, or an old e-mail that I kept tucked away somewhere.  God knows when we're feeling discouraged and he sends people and things into our lives to lift our spirits when our hope is deferred and our heart is sick.  Sometimes he even uses famous people to bring encouragement.

When I think about how God is able to connect people with other people who've been there and understand, and how He's able to bring encouraging people into our lives at the exact moment when they would do the most good, I am amazed by Him. I was meant to come across Kim's e-mail today.  God knew I needed a pep talk.  Perhaps you need one too.  Perhaps he also used me to bring hope to you.  In closing, I'll repeat what Kim told me, Keep your eyes focused on Him.  He will give you the desires of your heart.