Chapter 9, loren

I never could have pictured you, because for me you were never supposed to exist. You were never in “our” happily ever after. When we said our vows, you were not in them. When our first child was born, you were not a part of this new creation. And when we moved into our first home, the memories we were going to make did not have you in them.

To the wife after me,

These are words I never thought I would ever be writing.

Please love him. Love him in ways I never could.

Please honor him. He needs to feel wanted, and most importantly, needed.

Please share in laughter with him, louder than the laughs we once shared together.

Please teach him to understand you, even in your darkest hours.

Please be patient with him, because I know the frustration will come when he becomes distant with you.

Please forgive him when his stubborn ways upset you, because I promise you they will.

Please stare into his eyes more often than I was able to. They’re beautiful and honest.

Please support him when he is stern with our children. Being a father is the most important role in the world to him.

I know all of this, because he was once mine.

To the wife after me,

I pray that you are kind, honest, and gentle. He needs that.

I pray that your love is unconditional

He needs to feel your love every day.

I pray you are patient.

He needs to know that you are willing to fix the broken pieces of him. The ones I could not fix.

I pray that you are understanding.

He needs to know you that you will accept everything about him, because I could not.

I pray that you are strong.

He needs to know you will trust him no matter what, because our trust was broken a long time ago, and we never got it back.

I pray that you are forgiving.

Because above all, he needs to know you will never give up on him, because I did.

To the wife after me,

My former husband is now the love of your life. You are his second chance at love. Please don’t take this opportunity lightly. He is a man with many broken pieces, dark secrets, and vulnerable scars.

Where I was once meant to love him, I am no longer needed. I pass his heart along to you now.

A prayer I once prayed for us, I now pray for you and him. Because our time has ended, and he was no longer meant for me. He was always yours. I was simply the hand he held while walking down the aisle to you.

I am grateful to have been that hand. I am grateful to have walked that walk with him.

To the wife after me,

Thank you for allowing him to love me before he was ready to love you.