Thank you letter

Dear ________________ (fill in the blank, you know who you are),

I just want to take this moment to say thank you. Truly, thank you from the bottom of my heart. See, you meant it for bad. You have said hurtful things. You have been unfair. You have judged wrongly. You have misrepresented me to others, not stood up for me, not come to my defense or shared the good things you "say" you think about me. You have let others trample on my good reputation. You have judged me without any evidence. You have spoken ill of me and talked about me behind my back. You have placed yourself above me and behaved in a way that says, "You are inferior to me. I am a superior human being." You have believed you knew me, but you really do not because you don't really want to know me. You just want to have the scoop so you can feed the gossip mill.

And I have let you. I have gotten hurt, prayed, cried, prayed, cussed, prayed, talked and talked and talked, and prayed some more. And now I am just angry. Really, really angry.

And for that I want to say, "Truly, most sincerely, thank you." What you meant for bad, I am going to turn to good with God's help. I am GOING to prove you wrong! I am not going to let you get the better of me. I am not going to let you beat me down. I don't know how I will do it, but I know God will not fail me.

And when this school year is over, I am going to be a wiser and better person. I am going to turn that anger into fuel. I will walk it off, talk it off with my hubby who understands me, and keep on doing just what I have been- my best! I was doing it all along, and it wasn't for you. And in the end, it won't be for you- it's for God and for those 18 kids who watch me all day. I am helping them become the people they were meant to be, and I will be doing that every day in spite of you.

So thank you for giving me more fuel. Thank you for placing adversity in my path. Because when I get through this, boy am I going to have something to share and the example I am setting for my three young people and those kids of mine at school- well, I am determined to set the right example for them.

Sincerely,
Me (you know who I am)