A woman pulled up in her car to the back of the local thrift shop and parked her car. She was in her mid-30s dressed in jeans, a t-shirt, her hair pulled back in a ponytail, and wearing sunglasses. She stepped out of her car, puffed out a large exhale, and moved to the back of her SUV. As she opened the back hatch, she heard “Good morning!” coming up the side of her car. She shifted her head to the side and saw an older man with gray hair and beard dressed in overalls walking up to her.
“Good morning!” he said again with a pleasant cheeriness.
“Good morning” the woman mumbled.
“Thank you for coming! What can I do for you?” he asked energetically.
The woman replied, “I’ve come to drop off some stuff.”
“That’s what we’re here for – to take the stuff that people don’t need or want anymore. Oh, forgive me for not introducing myself, my name is Josh.”
“Hello, Josh.” The woman noticed Josh had a kindness that she immediately found comforting.
“Can I help you with your stuff?” Josh asked.
“That would be nice” the woman replied. She reached into the back of her car and grabbed the first box. The top was open, and it was full of women’s clothes. She picked up the box, and Josh was quick to take it from her.
“These are some pretty fancy clothes!” Josh said with a smile.
“Yes – those were mine” the woman responded.
Josh looked at them a little closer and asked, “Why are you giving these away?”
“Well, I used to go to nightclubs a lot. Many of them were very nice, so I had to look good” the woman said with a bit of a smile. “We had a lot of fun going to these places – partying and dancing.”
“I’m sure you looked nice, but it sounds like you’re not doing this anymore.” Josh noted.
The woman’s face began to change – even behind the sunglasses. “No I don’t. We started going to these places more and more, but things kind of got out of hand.”
Josh was coming back from putting down the box of clothes and said, “Yeah, I’ve heard that those places can take a lot out of people – get them to do things they normally wouldn’t do.”
The woman reached into the back of her car and grabbed the second box. Josh stepped in and saw that this box was a little heavier. He said to the woman, “Let me help you with this one.” He looked in the box and saw that it had some tools and some men’s clothes. “Whose are these?” he asked.
“They were my husband’s” the woman replied softly.
“Were?” Josh asked tenderly.
Josh noticed a tear beginning to fall below her sunglasses. “Yes, we’re not married any longer.”
“I’m very sorry to hear that. Divorce is a terrible thing.” Josh said compassionately.
“Yes it is, and it is all my fault!” the woman cried out. “We kept going to the nightclubs, and we were going with what I thought were our friends. At first it was a lot of fun, but the drinking and partying got out of hand, and we both ended up doing things that violated our marriage vows. My husband ended up leaving me with one of my so-called friends who left her husband.” The tears were building up below the sunglasses.
“I can see this is very painful for you, but it sounds like both of you were going to the nightclubs – not just you.” Josh observed.
“Yes, but I was usually the one encouraging us to go. It’s all my fault!” the woman again cried out.
Josh quietly responded, “He could have chosen not to go, couldn’t he have? Seems to me he had a role in this as well.”
The woman stopped, pulled off her sunglasses, and Josh could see the look on her face as if someone had startled her. “You’re right, Josh. Maybe it’s not all my fault, but I sure egged it on.”
“Ok, but it takes two to tango” Josh calmly commented. He looked into the back of her car and saw one more box. “Would you like me to help you with this last box?”
The woman immediately broke down and pleaded with Josh that he take the box. “Please – I had a hard enough time getting that box in the car.”
Josh reached into the car expecting that the box would be heavy, but it was the lightest of the three boxes. He looked inside and saw that it was full of boy’s clothes and some toys. Josh closed his eyes with some sadness and pulled the box out of the car for the woman. He looked at her with a caring look as the tears were now pouring down her face.
“They were my son’s. He went with his father in the divorce. My husband’s attorney convinced the court I caused the problems in the marriage by pushing the nightclub life on us. He claimed I wasn’t fit to be a mother!”
Josh put down the box, opened his arms, and the woman fell into his arms. “Now I know that isn’t true. I can tell that you love your son. That’s the centerpiece to being a good mother – simply loving your son. You’ve made some poor decisions, but those are behind you. I can see that by the things you’re leaving here. You can’t change the past – it is over. What you can change is how you live today and tomorrow. It looks to me like that is what you’re starting to do by dropping off the evidence of painful memories.”
Still crying the woman said, “Yes the memories are crushing. I can’t forgive myself.”
Josh gently pushed her back, looked her in the eyes, and quietly said, “I forgive you.”
The woman was initially startled by Josh’s words, but then she immediately started crying again and asked, “Why would you forgive me? These things I did weren’t against you?”
Josh replied, “Sometimes you just need to hear those words. They are very helpful when it comes to healing.”
The woman’s sobbing came to a stop, and she straightened up a bit as she wiped her eyes and face with the handkerchief Josh had given her. “Thank you. You are right – it does feel good to hear those words. But I still can’t get past the guilt and shame of what I’ve done.”
“You will.” Josh confidently replied. “My Father taught me there is no greater evidence of love than forgiveness. Everything that is good and possible for healing flows from forgiveness.”
The woman’s countenance was improving. Josh noticed this and added, “God will forgive you and offer you a peace and a hope you don’t know is possible at this time.”
“He will?” the woman asked with a yearning in her voice.
“I’m sure of it.” Josh responded as he picked up the final box and put it in the pile of the other boxes full of painful memories. He pulled off his gloves and went to thank the woman for coming. She noticed there were scars on his hands and asked Josh how he got those.
Josh looked at her sweetly and said, “That was from work my Father asked me to do a long time ago. That work is finished now.”
The woman was clearly feeling better and thanked Josh for his kindness and assistance. She hugged him and as she headed for her car, she turned around and asked if she could get a receipt for the things she left behind.
“Glad to.” Josh said energetically. “He pulled out a pad, scribbled down what she asked for, and gave it to her. The woman stuffed it in her purse, kissed him on the cheek and said goodbye. When she got back to her home, she pulled out the receipt, and she was startled to look at what was written by Josh. It simply said, “Forgiven”. She then looked at the top of the receipt that showed the name of the store, and it said in bold letters, “Messiah”.