Hey there. Obviously we don’t know each other, but I thought I’d write you a little note. We’re a little concerned about you and hope we can send some encouragement your way.

A couple of years ago, I bought High School Musical 3 one day because the girls begged me asked politely for it and, quite frankly, it was on sale for a REALLY cheap price. The now eight-year-old loved it. And when I say she loved it, I mean like it was the only movie she watched for a while. Over and over and over.

I must admit it’s a fun movie and charming and innocent and hopeful so I didn’t mind her watching it. Well, maybe after the 100,000th time it started to wear thin. But sometimes out of nowhere, we (by “we”, I mean “I”) still break out into one of the songs from that movie.

Anyway, she’s a BIG fan. So, I gave in and got her a poster of you from that movie this past Christmas. There was one condition though—she could only hang it up on her wall if she promised to pray for you. I’m not sure why I gave this condition, but I felt strongly about it. I guess it was my way of getting her to understand that you are a real person, not a character you play in a movie.

When I ask her if she’s praying for you still, she tells me she prays for you every night.

Unfortunately, I have not always been able to protect her from things in this world. Things like how a friend of hers at school gave her a note threatening suicide. I wasn’t expecting that this early in her life. So there are times I have to talk with her about things she shouldn’t have to hear about. I’ve tried to tell her how pain inside and pressures outside can cause people to do and say things they might not normally do or say.

Because she prays for you, I have shared with her how you went to rehab last year. I didn’t do this to make you look bad in her eyes, but to give her an idea about what to pray for you and to encourage compassion in her. To let her know that people she looks up to aren’t perfect. Nobody can be. And that has to be ok because everyone has a weakness, no matter how cute or nice or smart or whatever other good quality a person might have.

Besides, if I can be perfectly honest with you, through the years I’ve seen too many young stars not make it out of Hollywood safe and sound. I felt I needed to give her some kind of warning just in case something bad happens to you. I hope you can understand where I’m coming from. I didn’t share that particular concern with her, but I can share with her that a drug or alcohol addiction can be a very difficult thing to overcome and prayer can only help. We are hoping only the best for you.

When she prays, she believes she is talking with God Himself. So she prays for you. Every night.