My dear child,
You had been warned. Your friends, your family—even some of your enemies had told you. You'd had an inkling, a flash of sudden awareness and an unmistakable sense of disquiet that something was seriously wrong. And yet you kept putting it out of your mind. You buried it under a list of chores: "I've got church at 7, Bible study at 12, prayers and devotions at 3 and hymns at 8. If I just stay on top of it all, this thing will take care of itself." But it didn't—and you made a litany of excuses: "It's no big deal. Everyone has some sort of failing. This happens to be mine. And who are these enemies? Are they so insecure that they have to point out every little flaw?"
But this is nothing little. It is no a mole on your face that never came to anything, not an oddly-coloured hair that hides away with the swipe of a comb. It is a malignancy, a disease—and the time has come for us to deal with it.
Make no mistake: This will be no easy thing, and this will not be accomplished on your own. There is no unilateral action that will purge them—no confessional, nor prayers, nor penances, nor denial or piety or preoccupation. You are not strong or clever enough for that. You must walk through it with me; there is no other way.
And make no mistake: If you do not deal with this, it will consume you. It will make you into the kind of person no one wants you to be—and one day you will wish you hadn't turned out that way, either. Your friendships will be strained, your détentes with your enemies will devolve into open hostilities, and even the good things you do will be contaminated.
Even though this letter caught you unawares and gave you news you never wanted, this letter is a good tiding. You have come face-to-face with a serious problem, and you have a chance to change your course. The greatest thing you can do is let me guide you. I will show you how to deal with it. I will tell you what you need to hear. I will hold the mirror up and demand that you look at the reflection. And however painful and disquieting it will be, it will have done you greater good than you can see now.
And it will do you great good—if you let it.
With everlasting love,
Aslan
