You didn’t know what you were getting into when you asked her out on that first date. The woman you thought you knew from conversations, pictures, or your past didn’t show you her hand up front out of fear of scaring you away.
Her eyes, the windows to her soul, didn’t hint at the wall she concealed within to protect what was left of her beaten and fragile heart. Her smile didn’t show the years of pain and struggle she had overcome to become the person she is today.
You didn’t know, but you took a chance anyway.
You didn’t know if her children would eagerly approve of your presence in their lives or if they would be more suspicious of you for spending time with their mother. What you did know was as soon as you learned she was a mother, there was no doubt you wanted to get to know her children.
After all, how could someone as beautiful as her, inside and out, not have children as equally beautiful? You wanted nothing more than the approval of those she loved, and who loved her, the most. Without that, as a man with integrity, you could not consciously resolve to pursue a relationship with this amazing woman.
You didn’t know, but you took a chance anyway.
You didn’t know what being a part of the family really meant. When you asked her for her hand in marriage, you only knew that you couldn’t picture the rest of your life without her. You weren’t prepared for all the sleepless nights, monthly pediatrician visits, never-ending after school activiites, mounds of homework, multiple yearly birthday parties, and eventually, the rollercoaster of teenage hormones.
You found yourself immersed in a world full of frustration but also of a love beyond measure. A world you soon discovered was made just for you. This pre-made family filled a void in your heart you didn’t know existed. You were the missing piece to their puzzle and they were the answer to your why.
You didn’t know, but you took a chance anyway.
This Father’s Day, as you read the sweet handmade cards from the kids or the beautiful poem your wife has written for you, you smile and wonder how you became so lucky. You not only have a family now, but your family has grown. You are no longer just a stepdad, you are a dad, in more ways than one. You think back on this journey and thank God for all of the chances you chose to take and you realize you didn’t just take those chances for yourself, you took them for all of those adoring eyes staring back at you. They needed you as much as you needed them.
You didn’t know, but this was the plan for you all along.
Thank you honey even if I could go back I’d do it all over again same way.