Tyler Perry is an American actor, writer, director, and producer of film and TV.
Dear Child of God,
In this picture I see you trying to smile, but that smirk is all you could muster. I know that you’re having it really hard right now, and you spend a lot of time using your imagination, seeing yourself running free in the park, away from all the pain.
In the reflection of your very sad eyes I see the hurt of watching your mother be belittled and beaten. I see the pain of your own beatings and the barrage of insults that you suffer and endure every day. I feel the horror of the hands of the molesters who are trying to rob you of who you are.
As I search your young face for any sign of myself, believe it or not, I’m able to smile . . . because just behind all of that darkness I see hope. You’ve got some kind of faith in God, little one.
I know that you don’t know this right now, but who you become is being shaped inside of every one of those experiences. The good, the bad, and yes, even the ugly ones. They all are going to work together for your good.
I know that’s hard for you to understand right now, but I promise you, you are going to get to a point where you use all of it, every bit of it, to make yourself better, and stronger . . . and you’re gonna use it in your work to uplift and encourage and inspire millions of people. It all works together for your good. It’s all in God’s hands.
You’re so uncertain about a lot of things. Right now the most important thing to you as a man-child is growing up to be able to take care of your mother. Don’t worry about that . . . you do. And she is happier than she could ever be as you grow up.
You’re uncertain about becoming an adult, because every friend that you have is either in jail or has been murdered. People are dying all around you, and you don’t think you’re going to live to see thirty years old . . . but you do. Not only do you live, you thrive.
You have a lot of challenges. A lot of things are trying to shake you, but there’s one thing that can’t be shaken and that’s your faith in God. Even now at your very young age, there’s a still small voice that speaks to you. You don’t know what it is but looking back on it, I know that it is the voice of God. There’s no other way to explain how you’re able to know what you know, how you’re able to understand what you understand at that age, how you’re able to navigate through those turbulent tough times. Yes, that is the voice of God. Like when you’re told that you’re nothing by many people . . . that voice tells you you’re something. Or when that teacher tells you you’ll never make it because you’re poor and you’re black and you’re from the ghetto, that voice says, “She’s wrong. That’s not true.” You’ll remember that moment because it changes your life. You’re gonna be all right.
I just want you to know, you beat everybody who beat you. And all that time you spent trying to make your mom smile by imitating her and dancing and laughing, keep that up, boy . . . it pays off big-time.
Thank you for living so that I could thrive.
Thank you.