Offering forgiveness

Dear sir:
The Town of Fort Frances is a very caring place. Neighbour helps neighbour in a way you seldom see in a larger community.
Our customers at the Salvation Army Thrift Store are, for the most part, wonderful giving people. No matter what mood they come in with, they receive a caring smile from our staff and often a tender heart and a listening ear. No one is ever turned away, or treated with callousness or disdain.
Some people come in because they are hurting and need to know that someone on the face of the earth cares that they are here. Everyone who comes through our doors is treated equally. Sharing God’s love through the hospice of the store is our main focus.
On our counter, we have a couple of donation containers. They allow those who wish to return a little of what God has blessed them with back into His service and to help someone else in need.
My letter focuses on a large tin with a “Food Bank” label on it. We have made some surplus items available for a very low and reasonable donation to help us with the finances required to buy staples such as milk and bread. These items are seldom donated for the food bank and every family who comes in for help with groceries needs them.
This program has been going very well, and we have been able to purchase some of these needed items with the donations the community has provided for that purpose.
Imagine our horror Monday afternoon when it was discovered that the precious tin was missing. Someone had walked into the store and while the staff was busy, snatched it and ran. This person must have felt their need was too great for us to help in the conventional way. How severely this person must be hurting to steal from God’s purse.
On the instruction of our Lord and Saviour, Colossians 3:13, “Forbearing one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so do ye.”
I would like to ask everyone who reads this letter to pray for God’s forgiveness for this person. Also, that whatever is weighing so heavily on this person, that it makes them feel that they must resort to thievery, be lifted from them.
Also, that God’s mercy and grace would lead them to someone who can make their situation better–not provide a solution of crime which only sinks them deeper in the mire of sin.
To the person who stole the donation can, we forgive you and ask that you let us help you in the way that God Himself has set in place. That is what we are here for.
Thank you for your time.
Signed,
Judy McCoy
Supervisor, Salvation
Army Thrift Store