Letters to God” is based on the true story of a little boy with cancer who wrote letters to God that he would then hand to the postman. The movie is directed by none other than David Nixon, the director of “Fireproof” and “Facing the Giants.” All we need to do is clone Nixon so that he can make lots and lots more movies. “Letters to God” is a bright story of a child’s faith that is more grown up than everyone else’s around him. Although dealing with sickness and death, this is a real feel good movie for the whole family. Tyler Doherty (Tanner Maguire) is a mischievous, soccer-playing kid who just happens to be bald because of chemotherapy. His best friend is a spunky tomboy, Sam (Bailee Madison), who defends Tyler from teasing at school. But Tyler’s not worried about being teased. The only thing Tyler is worried about is being like Jesus, and trying to help others get to know God. It’s all so obvious to Tyler, but not to his Mom, his older brother or his classmates, and certainly not to his troubled postman, Brady McDaniels (Jeffrey S. S. Johnson). The best part of “Letters to God” is it teaches us how to pray without being pedantic in the least. Grandma just naturally holds hands with her grandson and prays when there’s a need. People bust out in short prayers whenever and wherever appropriate. Tyler gets almost his whole town writing “letters to God.” He shows them how easy it is to pray. We get to hear all the townspeople’s different prayers and their unique voices and styles, which reinforces that each of us is a unique individual with a unique relationship with God. The pace of the movie is definitely Southern. Mayberry slow. “Letters to God” never dips down into the dregs of the pain, loss, horror or chaos of terminal illness. Everyone experiences terminal illness the same way, either, and some may be little chosen warriors like Tyler. Tyler is a wonderful new kind of film hero. One who never loses faith, hope or love when he has every excuse to just that. In fact, he defends God, faith, hope and love to everyone around him as he tries to get them to “ut cognoscant te” (“to know thee” is eternal life. See Jn 17:3.). The theme of community is strong in “Letters to God.” Together we “bear one another’s burdens” and sorrows become lighter. Tyler knows that we come from God and are going back to God, and that life is short — no matter how many years we are granted. Tyler knew where he was going. Do we?