November 20, 2012 | 2:45 pm

LeAnn Rimes, Peace & Grace

Posted by Ilana Angel

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Dear Ms. Rimes,

I have written about you often, and it has not been kind.  I have strong opinions about you, and while there are many who love and support you, I have not.  I have been open and honest in sharing my views of you and some of your behavior.  I cannot and will not take back what I said because it was my truth, and it is already out there.  But I can change my mind moving forward.

I recently spent a long time on the phone speaking with the schoolteacher that you are suing.  We spoke at great lengths, and in great detail, about the series of events that led up to your filing a lawsuit against her. She was open and honest about her side of the story.  While I have not met them, she and her daughter, who you are also suing, seem like really lovely and honest people.

In the time that we spoke, she said she was confused and scared by what was happening with the lawsuit, but she never spoke unkindly about you. I may have said some mean things, hard to believe I know, but she skipped right over them and remained quiet.  When given the opportunity to join me in some LeAnn bashing, she opted to take the high road and not say anything mean.

Her attitude towards you, while under such stress, has inspired me to also take the high road.  I want to publicly tell you that I am very sorry for sharing my opinions in such a public way.  Your life is none of my business and my writing about you should be limited to your work, not your personal life.  I think you are a talented and gifted singer, and that should be all I write about you.

I wonder if you understand the damage your lawsuit has done to this family.  You are hurting and scaring a family that in my opinion, has done nothing worthy of legal action.  You are continuing a fight you cannot, and will not win.  It seems like a waste of money.  You would be better served donating your money to charity than giving it to an attorney.

I have never met you, but I think I can safely say you are a woman who has experienced pain, sorrow, fear, and stress.  If you are willing to visit the places in your heart that have seen darkness, you would not put such pain on this woman and her family.  The question is whether or not your ego, pride, heart, and lawyer will allow you to fix the mistake that was made.

I am an ex-wife, and my son has a stepmother, so I can put myself in your shoes and understand the position you are in.  I have a young son who is the air I breathe and so I can imagine what your childhood was like. I am able to look inside my own heart and see I have crossed a line.  I am very sorry for hurting you.  I cannot ask you to be kind, if I am not willing to be kind myself. 

I will no longer write about your personal life.  You are trying to move forward and I respect that.  I wish you well and hope you find peace.  You are clearly battling many things, which I imagine is exhausting, so I hope you are able to get rest. As a mother, daughter, sister, and friend, I am asking you to reconsider your lawsuit against the teacher and her daughter. 

It is the decent thing to do, and also the right thing in terms of your heart. Dropping the case will set you free and allow you to start over. Let this be the beginning of peace.  You have the ability to take the high road and I think you really want to. There is no winning really as you will be judged either way, but in dropping the case I can promise you that peace will come. 

You are blessed with a God given talent that allows you to make a living doing what you love. You have lost and found love, which makes your heart wise.  You have faced your demons, which makes you strong. You have forgiven, which makes you kind. It is only when we love ourselves, that we are able to be generous.  Generous of spirit. This is a moment for you to be full of grace.

I am a woman of faith and I believe that God not only watches over, but he watches.  I am trying to find peace in my own life.  I am in a new relationship that fills me with joy and scares me to death.  I ma trying to find peace so I can enjoy the love I have found and not spend my time waiting for it to be over.  Life is complicated and writing you has simplified it for me.

I have a strained relationship with my ex-husband and his wife.  Perhaps showing kindness to you will allow me to show kindness to them also.  How interesting it would be if in reaching out to you for peace, I am able to find some with them. Again, I am sorry for hurting you.  I know you will read this, and I hope you will take it to heart.  I am keeping the faith.

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