First of all, if you’re reading this, I want to say, thank you.

Thank you for teaching me how to love wholeheartedly.

Thank you for making me smile. Thank you for making me laugh. Thank you for all of the adventures we took at all hours of the day. For rolling the windows down, turning up the music and just driving. For looking at the stars with me. I’m grateful for that one night we were out until 5:00 a.m. after a day in Atlanta, a concert, and a midnight premiere that didn’t actually start until 1:30 a.m.

I’m also thankful for the tears and for the heartache.

I'm thankful for the nights I lay awake wondering what I could do to make you care more. To make things work. I often thought that if I acted just right and treated you so good, that all the stress and worry I was feeling would go away. In those times that you weren’t there for me how you should have been I was angry and hurt, but now I realize it was just a lesson for me.

Thank you for making me realize that not everyone has the capacity to love unselfishly.

Don’t get me wrong, I believe you did, and maybe still do, love me. But in your own way. A way that’s different from how I loved you. One day I hope you will find a woman who makes you realize that how you loved me isn’t enough. I hope you wake up one day and think “Oh, that’s what she meant!” However, for now, or at least with me, you’re not there yet.

That’s why we didn’t work out.

I grew tired of waiting for the reciprocation I finally realized would never come. I do not blame you. I do not blame myself. I do not want others blaming you. In all reality, it was no one’s fault. It just wasn’t in God’s plan for us to be together forever. I believe that when someone enters your life, it’s either for the long run or it’s just for a season. If it is for a season, then that person is a lesson for you. We were each other’s lessons.

However, now that our chapter of my life is over, I want to say a prayer for you. I want you to be able to experience the wholehearted love I felt when I was with you.

“Dear Father,

Thank you for the man you put in my life. Thank you for allowing me to feel that overwhelming sense of love every time I was around him. Thank you for the little jumps my heart did every time I saw him. Thank you for allowing me to completely let my guard down. Thank you for the days I spent crying and hurting over the end of the relationship — it meant that it was real.

Now I would like to say something about this man and the wonderfully, tragic relationship we shared.

I pray that one day someone will walk into his life and open his eyes. That he will be able to see how beautiful she is and that he will remind her of that on a daily basis. I pray that he will appreciate her more than she’s ever been appreciated. That he will take the time to focus on the little things. I pray that he’ll bring her flowers when she’s having a bad day. I pray that he’ll put a smile on her face every morning when she wakes up and every night before she falls asleep with sweet words of affection. Most importantly, I pray that he’ll be able to let his guard down for her; something he couldn’t do for me and that letting his guard down would allow him to love her unselfishly.

I pray that the man who broke my heart will measure the happiness of his next girlfriend by how high her smile lifts her cheeks.

Please don’t allow my heart to become bitter towards him. Keep me calm and allow me to continue to be thankful for the time we spent together.

In Your holy and precious name I pray,

Amen”