dear family & friends,

i love you. i miss you. i look forward to hugging each of you as soon as the opportunity arises.

i’m reaching out to you with what’s on my heart. a lot of time has passed, and much has changed in all of our lives.

mom and dad, i honor and respect you. thank you for giving me life. i thank god for you. my journey has not been without challenges and obstacles. i have become an honorable man, consistent, reliable and stable, a man of integrity.

thanks to each of you for what you did for me and for my daughter during a dark time in my life. i’m grateful for your loving actions and the sacrifices you’ve made.

no one has greater love than this, that someone would lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13

I’m ready to re-establish relationships with each of you. I recognize this will take time, grace and forgiveness. I am patient and willing to make things happen.

psalm 133:1-3 (ESV) “behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! it is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! it is like the dew of hermon, which falls on the mountains of zion! for there the lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.”

i bless you with peace and send you my love.

nathan

 

(copyright 2017 jane doe)

it was easy in the beginning. new, fresh, delightful.

fun adventures appeared around every corner as they took back pieces of their lives together.

two are better than one.

it wasn’t long after the new beginning that the real work began. the hard work of loving, the daily choice to love this day, then the next. and the one after that, too.

the choice to choose each other when it was hard. and it got hard.

open wounds surfaced quickly. father wanted to touch those places with his love.

once fully healed, always fully healed.

at first, father had her send emails with his words and direction. they remained unopened. topic avoided.

she’d brought it up in conversation, once, then twice. had there been a third time?

she framed it so he could see the help available to him.

when the toxicity spilled out again, she hit it head on. it was making her sick inside now. it had to be done.

she told him she was there for support in every good way, just like before.

she also brought him wise counsel with a loving boundary.

 

 

without fanfare or drama, she asked him to stop calling the other woman a bitch in their conversations.

“when you call her a bitch, it’s releasing word swords tipped with poison into the atmosphere. i don’t need to be on the receiving end of those words.”

she advised him his words were also messing with something he wanted done. his words were working against him and for the enemy.

bless. do not curse.

there was more.

“and although you tell me you’re not holding a grudge, your words tell a different story.yes, you need to heal. i get that. but spewing the words out shows what’s still in your heart.”

“keep forgiving until you no longer want to call her names. bless her when the enemy tempts you to curse her. no matter her sins or anyone else’s, it is never good to side with the accuser of the brethren.”

“i love you.”

edit. read out loud again.

push the send button.

forgive.

(copyright 2017 jane doe)